


Thick as Thieves

by SuddenCruelty



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, F/M, Implied Torture, Maybe seen torture, Murder, The End Justifys The Means, Violence, implied rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:59:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 240,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6064912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuddenCruelty/pseuds/SuddenCruelty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, Younger versions of growing criminal Roman and Neo that live for themselves and take on whatever comes at them.</p><p>Can evil corrupt them to fight for destruction or will the good give them a change of heart?</p><p>Can Team Cinder or Team RWBY and their friends handle a rougher and more reckless Roman partnered with an unstable and emotionally attached Neo?</p><p>Let's find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Partners for Life

**Chapter 1: Partners for Life**

 

Beep..Beep..beep...slowly opening one eye the reddish-orange haired figure stretched out his arm to tap the alarm for the beeping to stop. He was about to move till he noticed the slender arms wrapped around his chest, that’s when he looked behind him to see a beautiful and mature brunette holding on to him.

He pulled her arms off him for her to roll to the other side on his bed as he got out to look through some drawers. “Mmmm...Roman? Come back to bed sweetie....”

Roman reached for his pants to pull out a cigarette from a pack and lit it with the lighter from the nightstand, holding it for a few seconds before blowing out a puff of smoke. “Look at the time sweetheart. As much as I love your fine company why don’t you be a doll and get out.”

“Mmm.....cold as always.”, The woman yawned as she sat up letting the blanket slip away and giving Roman another view at her impressive body even if she was just a common woman of the night.

While he leaned against the frame of the open doorway she got out to just put on her red lingerie and picked up her clothes before walking towards him where she kissed his cheek with her fingers lightly touching his chest, “Ever get lonely, you know where to find me baby.”

Rolling his eyes made her giggle before walking through his living room and out his front door. Sticking his smoke in the ashtray he headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower.

\---

He looked at his attire; black jeans, leather brown boots and a black undershirt, “....Good enough..” Picking up a black baseball cap off the rack and his die-hard companion Melodic Cudgel, he exited out of his place and started descending the staircase until he stopped at one spot and sat down next to a young girl sporting pink and brown hair while wearing a pristine white dress.

“You know you could have slept on the couch. She wouldn’t have bothered you.”

She didn't give a response for a few seconds and just clutched her knees.

Standing back up and dusting off his pants he reached out his hand to her, “Come on Neo, let’s go steal some of that ice cream you like so much.”

He held out his hand for a minute until he felt her slender fingers before he pulled her up and they descended the stairs and out of the apartment together.

Holding Melodic over his shoulder he pointed towards the nearby drugstore and once they got in they separated. Roman stood at the corner and pulled a magazine from the rack while Neo was looking through the shelves while remaining in the clerk’s view.

Roman waited till he heard a crash and the sound of the clerk rushing and glanced to see Neo had _accidentally_ dropped stuff off the shelves when she tried reaching for the highest one. Quickly stealing the ice cream and leaving while the clerk was preoccupied with the frantic actor Neo.

Lighting a smoke for himself, he waited a couple of buildings away until Neo came running towards him when he tossed her the bucket of the ice cream. They reached the park to sit at an empty bench where Neo was happily eating the ice cream and the bits of loneliness Roman saw earlier were gone.

While she ate he looked around the park for it to be mostly empty except for some homeless men who looked like they were gambling with bottle caps, some rabbit faunus taking pictures and what he saw at face-value was a happy family of four.

Seeing it made him remember his parents for about five seconds before he shattered that thought when he patted Neo’s head and she looked up to him as he started signing words. _What do you want to do for your sweet sixteen Neo?”_

Setting aside the empty ice cream bucket first, _Can we go to the zoo?_

He glanced around before he saw a couple of couples wandering around, before smiling at Neo. _Let me get some money and we’ll go kay?_

\--

After a little bit of quick pickpocketing some unlucky chumps did the duo pay their passes and entered the zoo even though it was packed with quite a bit of people.

Seeing the first animal as they entered had already excited Neo as she ran up to look at it, and it was times like these Roman could only smile at how adorable she was. He was about to light one until someone bumped into him, “Hey, watch it Red!”

Telling off the girl with a red cape who stumbled forward after bumping into him, “Hey buddy, sorry about my sister.” He felt a hand on his right shoulder before a buxom blonde girl appeared in his view who looked about seventeen or eighteen, close to his age.

Giving a bright smile before she went to her sister and put her into a headlock, “I told you to watch out when you go at full speed knucklehead...”, and they disappeared into the crowd.

“Dumb girls...”, growling a bit before kneeling down to get his smoke and lit it while he walked over to Neo who was lovingly petting a cat-like creature that had sat on a rock close to the walls making it only a few inches from the railing.

He patted her head ruffling her hair a bit, “Like em Neo?” and she responded with a big smile that Roman hadn’t seen in awhile. He looked around a bit to see more families walking but he was fixated on one thing.

“Hey Neo, I’m gonna get something that we forgot so I’ll be right back.”, tapping her back and she nodded as he headed for the food court. Keeping his eyes on the bags people dumb enough to leave behind when they left to do something.

“Nora...I still don’t think that’s what a sloth sounds like.”

Hearing the conversation he looked to see a young asian man talk with a bubbly girl sporting short orange hair and she was talking to him so fast that Roman tuned out their conversation instantly.

Roman walked by three tables with an unattended bag at them and quickly pulled out severals items unnoticed as he made his way next to a trashcan. His haul was wallets, spare lien and a single camera; he pulled out the lien and stuffed his pockets while tossing the IDs, cards, wallets into the trash and erasing all the pictures already on the camera before walking back.

But when he returned she wasn’t there, fortunately it was easy to find her due to her unique hair color as she was looking at some tigers. He stood a few feet away and since he was at least a foot taller he knelt down to pull out his scroll to send her a text. [Turn around]

Neo felt her scroll vibrate and when she checked the message she did what the message said only to be pleasantly surprised by the bright flash of light before blinking her eyes to see Roman laughing with a camera in his hand.

“Hahaha!”, Roman was cracking up after looking at the photo which showed Neo’s rarely seen shocked face and Neo herself was slamming her fists into his chest even though she wasn’t really mad at him for the picture but rather was mad at him for laughing.

But she was still pouting until Roman stopped laughing and recollected himself, “Whew...alright alright, it’s not that bad anyway.”

She held her hand out gesturing _Give it_ , and Roman eventually gave it before she ran towards an older man with a red coat and bushy mustache. Roman wondered until she gave him the scroll and she ran back to Roman to clutch his left arm then giving a big smile to the camera.

After the man took the picture he handed the camera back to Roman, “Thanks.”

“It’s my pleasure, have a great day.”

“Peter!”, like a blur a tall man with unkempt green hair had suddenly appeared and pulled the older man into a conversation to which Roman took that sign to leave with Neo.

“Let's get something to eat Neo.”

Roman himself wasn’t that hungry but he settled on a latte while Neo was busy eating her burger.

“So how’s it going with Blake and Weiss?”

“Take a guess.”, spoken by two voices.

“Take that as not good.”

Glancing to the table next to them was four rather very muscular boys; monkey boy, dark giant, pirate Jack and goggles. Using each boy’s most identifiable trait as their nickname but to him it sounded like just girlfriend troubles and tuned them out.

Looking at Neo as she finished her burger he gestured her to lean closer and she did, allowing him to wipe the sauce off her cheek then licking it off his finger, “Not bad.”

“Anything else you want to see while we’re here Neo?”

She pondered for a few minutes until she looked around and pointed for him to follow her direction to see a flyer promoting some kind of show with aquatic animals. He matched the time with the one on his scroll, “Alright come on, hopefully there’s still some seats.”

Grabbing his drink and cane before Neo took his hand and lead the way to some amphitheater. They eventually found seats near the front and waited for the show to begin. “Did you see Ruby or Yang?”

“Well I left them a message but they didn’t respond, they’re probably doing something stupid.”, listening to the conversation to his left, he took a glance to notice two girls sitting next to him and in terms of color of the attire they were complete opposites.

The one giving off some spoiled-rich kid vibes wore a white dress that seemed to be custom made, while the other one was mainly wearing a mix of mainly black and white clothing though her black hair tipped the scale of black outweighing white.

Though what he noticed was the bow on her head and he saw it move even if it was a brief second, “Too obvious...”

“Hmm?”

Surprised he turned to see the girl staring at him and concluded that she was indeed a faunus if she could hear him with all the noise around them, “Did I say something sweetheart?”

She eyed him as one would look at a suspicious person, “I don’t know, did you?”

“If I admitted saying you’re gorgeous, will you back off?”

Feeling his right arm being pulled he turned to see Neo’s adorable pouting face which made him chuckle, “Don’t worry I’m behaving.”

Turning back to the raven haired girl, “Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Roman.”, giving his hand.

Staring for a moment until she took his hand, “Blake.”

“Nice to meet you Blake, enjoy the show.”, effectively ending the conversation before turning his eyes back to the show.

He never understood the mindset of wasting money by spending on things like this, paying for only a piece that was limited to personal time. But he understood zoos, theme parks, festivals, and all the other festive crap were money-makers in the end.

And like all the other sheep being strung along, he followed except it was for a different reason.

He looked towards Blake to see her slightly drooling over the sight of the fish-like animals and then to Neo who was engrossed by the flips and tricks they did, but he looked down at the camera to stare at the one picture taken of Neo and him together.

Seeing it made his hands tremble as another memory of his family came to mind and the only thing he saw.....was a house on fire. Not reacting at first but he finally noticed Neo reaching her hand up to his face to wipe a tear off him, turning off the camera he could see his reflection in the black screen that he was tearing up a little.

Wiping his eyes with his arm he put up his best smile for her, “Sorry about that Neo, having fun?”

Her worried expression didn’t change but she recognized when Roman wanted to push something away and nodded, “Good good, I’m gonna go out for a smoke but I’ll be waiting on the third bench to your left when you exit okay?”

Ruffling her hair while still putting up his smile before he left and Blake couldn’t help but notice when Roman had passed them that he looked furious even though she couldn’t find the reason behind such an expression.

_Twelve fucking years and I still can’t fucking block it out..._

After exiting the amphitheater and passing a few couples and families, albeit while pickpocketing the parents did he sat in the empty third bench. Pulling another smoke and quickly searching to pull out his lighter.

He kept pulling the spark wheel for a spark to flash but no flame, “Come on...”, he kept trying but each time only a spark and nothing more. “Come on you piece of..”

“Here,” , turning his head to a sultry voice to see a short-raven haired woman in a particular eye-catching crimson dress raising her hand to him for just her nail to touch his cigarette before it was lit.

He gripped the handle of his cane while slowly inhaling for a few seconds, “Nice magic trick, got anything else up your sleeves dollface?”

“A woman has to have some secrets. Don’t you think so Roman Torchwick?”

Pausing for a second to process till he was slowly moving Melodic, “That’s funny, I don’t remember ever introducing myself....”

Suddenly he felt a knife that tapped his side as the cold steel made contact with his skin through his shirt, “ You have a growing reputation Roman, and I felt an honest conversation wasn’t gonna cut it.”

Quickly pulling Melodic and held his finger on the trigger as it was aimed directly at the woman’s heels, “You’re not the only one packing sweetheart. Much as I love your seductive voice and hot presense I’ll say this, just walk away right now... and in one piece.”

She glanced to the cane and could see a sight down the end of the cane to assume that's where the end of the barrel was but she only smiled, “Do you really expect me to believe that you’ll pull the trigger when you’re this close my dear Roman?”

His anger and shakiness from earlier was gone in an instant as he assumed a smirk while keeping his eyes on her, “I’m a gambling man first and a rational one second. You lose those gorgeous legs and that coke bottle waist of yours while I lose some fingers or maybe an arm, wanna take that bet honey?”

Looking into his green eyes she could see them gleaming after making up a potentially fatal bet, though she felt he was bluffing but also felt that Roman was genuinely fine with betting his life. “Heh...I’m confident I can steer clear from the blast and just leave my subordinate to take care of you.”

She glanced to her left and he followed looking to his right to see a dark-skinned woman with green haired tied into a ponytail reaching back for her weapons.

But when he turned his attention back to the crimson woman his smirk remained if not more confident, “Tell me darling, how deep do you like it?”

Hearing it at first as his pathetic attempt to shake her till...

Click!

Surprised by the sound the woman glanced behind her to see Neo sitting quietly next to her with her hands together on her lap but she could see a silver pistol aimed at her while covered by her other hand.

“You’re running out of cards to play Crimson, last call.”

Instead of a face of defeat the crimson woman smiled as she got closer to him putting her hand on his cheek while pulling the knife back,“.....Very well Roman, we’ll see each other again soon and you’ll listen whether you want to or not.”

Kissing his cheek leaving a visible mark before strutting over to the green haired girl, both Roman and Neo still had their fingers tight on the trigger as they watched her but the two suddenly disappeared like they were never there.

“Bunch of weirdos today...”, sighing to himself when Neo moved herself closer to him on the bench to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipe off the lipstick off his cheek. “Thanks Neo, where’d you get the gun anyway?”

He looked where she was looking to see a frantic vale officer searching through trash cans and potted plants which made Roman just laugh looking at the idiot, “Hahaha, nice one. Here I got it.”

Neo gave him the gun and he lifted his shirt to quickly shove the pistol down his pants before covering it back up and he just smoked for a bit while she waited in silence. “Gotta admit, she was pretty hot.”

Which received him a quick punch to the arm from a pouting Neo, “Heh...still got a few hours of daylight before we go see Junior. Wanna go check out the rest of the animals while we can?”

\-----

Walking peacefully through the streets while Roman could smoke with no problems and Neo could happily look through all the photos they took from the zoo. They stopped once they reach the only good-looking building compared to the run-down ones around it, and once they entered it was respectfully packed with the shady and the not so shady at the dance floor and only a couple of people at the bar.

“Come on Neo.”, leading with her right behind him they found two empty seats and quickly got Junior’s attention. “Been awhile since you guys came together, whiskey and milk?”

“Just whiskey, little lady’s birthday so might as well drink something.”, patting Neo’s head.

“Ah right.”

Roman pulled out his scroll and tossed it to Neo since he had some games on it that she didn’t have on hers to play. While she played on his scroll Roman and Junior made sure there was a good enough distance from the others.

Pulling up three glasses and a bottle of whiskey to fill them, “How’s the information coming along?”

Junior pulled out a file from under the counter and slid it to Roman for him to glance to first see a map of a building layout along with numerous notes about entry points and guard rotations. “This everything?”

“Yeah but a piece of advice, you’ll need to watch yourself extra carefully with this one. Some dumb shit tried breaking in last time and was lucky enough to almost make it to the vault door so they upped security, rumors are they hired some celebrity fighter who won a couple of tournaments.”

“Sounds like a real winner.”

“You sure you’re good with just yourself? You know how to fight Roman but you’re no champion fighter.”

Looking at the two silver rings on right middle finger before downing the shot, “Hah...You know better than anyone that relying on hired help for a hit like this is a handicap for the one leading it.”

“I’m just saying Roman, this _really_ won’t be easy.”

“Aw, you worried about me Junior? I think I’m tearing up.”

Junior sighed before pouring into Roman’s glass then taking a shot himself, “Just don’t get yourself killed smartass, in terms of information business I’m running low on buyers these days.”

“Haha! Don’t worry Junior, you’re gonna be seeing my pretty face for awhile. Oh yeah, did you get that?”, after putting a few stacks of lien on the counter.

Junior grabbed the lien to stuff inside a box behind him before he left to go into a backroom, Neo busied herself playing Roman’s scroll while he patiently drank and scanned the dance floor for any unfamiliar faces.

Though he saw the usual scum and street rats he usually sees but he could also see some students from that Beacon Academy or whatever. The only one who stuck out was a young man with silver hair hitting on some girl, but there wasn’t anything special about him and the main reason Roman noticed was because he got a laugh when the girl slapped him.

Feeling his arm be pulled he turned to Neo who showed the game on his scroll announcing she beat his high score, “Savor it, I’ll beat it again when we get home. Drink up too.”, pushing the third glass to her.

She took it like a champ but her expression after had, _Ugh..so bitter._ “, writtin all over it. “Drink more and you’ll get use to it.”

But Junior came out of the door holding a medium sized box and a long black leather cylinder to set them on the table. Roman strapped the cylinder to his right shoulder while grabbing the box to carry it in his left hand while Melodic remained in his right hand.

He gestured Neo to grab the files, “Come on, let's go home Neo.”

\--

Roman entered first and headed for the kitchen while Neo jumped over and plopped on the couch to turn on the TV. He left the box and cylinder on the table while he pulled the gun from his pants and put it in the knife drawer that had several other different handguns.

“Hey Neo, I’m gonna start dinner so go be a dear and freshen yourself up.”

She signed _Okay_ to leaving for his bedroom since the only bathroom was there and he waited until he could hear the running water. After washing his hands he opened the box to reveal a neapolitan cake and he set up sixteen candles before lighting them when he heard the water stop.

The door open and Neo came out drying her face with a small towel until she smelled something and turned to a smiling Roman with a lit cake, “Happy sixteenth birthday Neo.”

Seeing it filled her joy as she ran up to hug Roman tightly, “Alright alright no mushy stuff, I got something else for you too.”

She looked up to him when he held up the cylinder, “I know how you’ve been training your fighting skills with my cane when I sleep but...”

Giving her the cylinder for her to open, “I figured you’d want something to call your own.” and pulled out a parasol. Gesturing her to open it revealed it was elaborately decorated in lace and displayed multiples colors of pink and white along with brown and red for the finishing edges.

“And if you ever need to finish someone off just grip the handle to extend the blade inside or flip the latch to pull the blade out.”, flipping the latch where the handle was she pulled out a long thin metal blade similar to an estoc.

“Happy?”, though he could already tell the answer just by looking at her face but he wasn’t expecting her to tackle hug him again which made his back hit the kitchen counter but he ignored that very brief moment of pain.

“Hey I said no mushy stuff. Come on let’s eat.”, ruffling her hair before they peacefully ate the cake together and he gestured her to take his bed for the night while he laid on the couch.

He was beginning to fall asleep watching some drama on the TV until he heard his scroll ringing and when he checked it was Junior, [Missed me already Junior?]

[There’s a couple of people asking for you, especially one fiery lady.]

Remembering what happened at the zoo, [Thanks for letting me know, but I’ll pay if you can steer that woman away for a while since I’ll be busy.]

He stood up to a sudden crash and could hear the sound of objects breaking from his bedroom, [Junior, get over here right now....and bring some painkillers.]

[Hey!], hanging up and tossing the scroll to the couch as he slowly approached his door before slowly opening it to see Neo up and his room was a mess. “Hey there sweetie.”

Turning to look at him he could see her eyes had changed to white and she was trembling while wielding the concealed blade from her parasol at him, “Neo it’s me Roman, your partner remember?”

But she was staring at him as if he was a monster and was trembling as he slowly approached her, “Look Neo, whatever you’re seeing isn’t real. You had a nightmare right?”

To Neo she wasn’t in the apartment but instead was in a corner of a dark room and she didn’t see Roman but a shadowy figure and whenever Roman spoke the shadowy figure spoke an unintelligible language.

She was shaken as the figure approached until she ran up and stabbed it with her eyes closed, but then she felt a pair of warm arms wrapping around her. Opening them she could see her hands still holding the blade but she wasn’t stabbing a shadowy figure as she saw the blood drip.

Looking up through her tear filled eyes she saw Roman who was keeping up a pained smile, “Hey there Ice Cream...feeling better now?”

To her horror she quickly pulled the blade out and tossed it away before hugging him in her attempt to stop the blood from pouring out from the wound she made. “Let go darling, you’re ruining your dress...”

Roman tried pulling her off him but she hugged tighter which was counter-intuitive for his pain, “Neo, it’s okay.....it’s a small wound...”

Knock, knock, knock!

“That’s probably Junior to help....go let him in..”, hearing that got her to let go as she ran to answer the door and Roman pulled himself to hold his wound while walking to the couch but instead fell in front of it.

Hearing a rush of footsteps before Junior was at his side with a kit and Neo keeping her worried expression, “Neo...go to sleep...please...”

Reluctantly she ran to his bed and covered up herself with the sheets since she thought to herself that she didn’t want to cause anymore harm. Junior handed a tiny bottle for Roman to take a few painkillers while he was cleaning the wound.

“That kid is gonna be the death of you Roman, seriously if you hadn’t used your aura to stop the blade from making an exit this would be a lot worse.”

“Hey....she’s fun right?”

“Seriously, what the hell makes her so special that you’ll take a knife to the hand and now a blade to the fucking stomach?”, pointing Roman to the healed scar on his right hand.

“...You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh really? The girls, the whores before her, all used and tossed away like trash except her. It doesn’t look like you’ve slept with her and it doesn’t look like you’ve fallen in love if you still sleep around so what is it?!”

He looked into his room to see just the head of Neo poking out from the sheets but could see her trembling and spoke loud enough to know she’d hear, “We’re partners......I just want to protect her you know?”


	2. The Scarlet Starlet

Neo waited quietly under the sheets for awhile until she heard Junior leave and she rolled over to glance at Roman who was holding his side as he was silently watching the TV. She wanted to go check up on him but she fought the urge and just waited for a few hours.

It felt like forever but she heard a thunk and turned back to look at him to see he dropped the remote as he fell asleep. Getting out of the bed she noticed the blood drops on the floor before looking at her once white, now blood stained dress, and quickly took it off to throw it on the floor.

Shivering a bit since she was naked she quickly rustled through Roman’s closet to put on a black button up and some shorts that she had to hold up with a belt. She did her best not to make a sound as she slowly approached the sleeping Roman to take a look at him.

His stomach area was bandaged though she could see it was already a little bit bloody but what made her heart ache was looking at his right hand and for some reason the scar that she had caused years ago looked fresh to her.

She could only feel that she had to leave even though she wanted to stay but after remembering the conversation he had with Junior her feelings were conflicted, she wanted to help him but sees herself only hurting him now.....

Getting up she started slowly approaching the front door, “Neo....”

She already had her hand on the doorknob when Roman had spoke her name, “I know you're there, come here.”

Wanting to leave but she felt ignoring him would hurt herself too much and she turned to move around the couch to see Roman greet her with his usual smile, “Hey there shortstuff, sit.”

Patting the floor next to him, she sat a little distance away but he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, “I know you understand it wasn’t your fault, so why do you want to run?”

Quickly throwing up signs, _I still hurt you Roman!,_ he tapped the bandaged area and didn’t flinch to show her. “I’m still handsome and breathing aren’t I?”

_But still!_

“Hey Neo, what do you think you are to me? Take a guess.”

Neo thought about their relationship and ultimately thought of what Roman was to her, making her cheeks a little red. “Can’t guess?”

His nice smile that he gives her didn’t help her thought process but he continued, “You’re my partner. We’ve already been through thick and thin and always come out on top and ten times richer than the suckers we lynch.”

“Now I’ve always said no mushy stuff but....you leaving would have hurt me alot more than you killing me in my sleep.”

 _But.... “_ You mind if we stay like this for a little while Neo?”

Hearing that, she turned a darker shade of red before hugging him so he couldn’t see. While he was happy that she chose not to run, Neo’s face was buried in his chest so he couldn’t see the confliction on her face.

_Why...does it have to hurt so much?_

\--------

“All you have to do Miss Nikos, is deal with the intruder when they come.”, sitting outside a tea shop sat an elderly man with a white beard sat across a young red-headed woman wearing a black suit while keeping her hat down in order to cover her face from others.

“And you’re certain about this soon-to-be intruder Director...?”

Taking a sip from his tea first before turning to address her, “The residence is home to numerous arts and valuables that are worth fortunes, yet the first intruder had ignored that and headed for one specific part of the residence holding one object that can never be taken.”

Letting a pause to which he gestured her to drink some of her tea first, “We can assume that the information about said object has been leaked and others will come trying to get it. And no we cannot move it without the President’s permission and must wait for his return.”

“I....understand.”

“No need to be nervous, these are likely just third rate thieves believing they have found a golden egg, but the President prefers to be careful. However, I doubt there will be anyone that can actually handle you, Champion Pyrrha Nikos.”

Hearing that a few of the people around them look towards her while she pulled her hat down as an attempt to cover her face better but her red hair still made her stick out.

The elderly man looked at his watch before readjusting his tie and getting up, “Well then, I have a meeting to attend too. I’ll see you again soon Miss Nikos.”

After watching him leave she quickly did so herself before the people who were still interested would surround her, “Whew...”

She entered into a supermarket to find a snack when her scroll rang and answered it to see Mom, “Hey Mother.”

“Pyrrha! Where have you been?!”

Browsing through the food section, “Sorry I haven’t called lately mother, I’ve been busy with classes and my team activities.”

“Then what is this I hear about you accepting a job to be some guard for a house that was already broken into?!”

“Wait, how did-”

“A mother never reveals her secrets, and Pyrrha if this is true I want you to quit the job right now.”

Pulling out a small box of energy bars when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that a small pink and brown haired girl wearing a black button up and what looked like boy shorts with a half-filled basket was having trouble reaching an item on a high shelf, “I know how to handle myself mother, and I’ve never gone back on a promise or job yet.”

“I’m serious Pyrrha, the intruder they caught had already killed three people! This isn’t like your tournaments where there are people there to stop it before a disaster even happens, if you slip up you could be killed!”

“I-I’ll talk to you later Mother.”, quickly hanging up and she took a deep breath once she let what her mother said sink into her thoughts. Knowing that she won’t be dealing with just competitive fighters but rather hardened criminals who wouldn’t be afraid to shed blood when the time comes.

Seeing her still struggle caused Pyrrha to walk over and grab the box on the high shelf which appeared to be ceral and handed it to the girl. She didn’t seem like she was that young but rather just very short for her age which she guessed was fifteen, sixteen at most. The girl pulled out her scroll and then showed it to Pyrrha, _Thank you._

“Anytime.”, answering the girl with a smile before she ran off to head for the cashier. “Must be too shy to speak,” hearing and feeling her stomach growl made her remember seeing a diner and thought it was a good time to eat.

\---

Roman still holding his side since it hurt a bit even though it was mostly healed up, made his way back into Junior’s bar to find it mainly empty except for Junior sat at a table...in the center of the dance floor.

Making his way he took a seat and let Melodic hang to the side of the table before laying back, “Didn’t expect a date this early, I must say I’m quite flattered.” giving his usual smirk.

Junior himself sat quietly with his hands together, “.....You still planning on doing the heist?”

“Oh is that what this is about? I mean I mentally prepared myself-”

“Cut the fucking shit Roman, I just found out who the champion they hired is. A redhead known as Pyrrha Nikos.”, opening a file and pushed it to Roman for him to just glance to see a beautiful redhead and then pictures of her victories in several tournaments.

“All I see is a beautiful girl who won in a sanctioned event that stops at the first sign of blood, I’ve seen better knife fights between kids over some half-eaten rats in the slums.”

“I’m just telling you...to get help for this hit.”, Roman stared at him until he lit a smoke then grabbed Melodic before getting up and heading for the door.

“I’ll catch you later Xiong.”

“...Fucking idiot...”

After exiting the bar he felt his stomach grumble since he didn’t eat anything this morning and the last thing he had was the cake from last night. “That place is probably still open...”

It took only a couple of minutes for him to reach a diner that had lived for a while since the sign itself was losing some letters but him and every other rat in the streets came to this place since it was open twenty-four/seven.

Opening the door, “Oh hey Roman!” seeing first the peppy young waitress calling his name before hearing multiple clicks as he could see a couple of the customers had their hands on a gun.

Roman raised his hands up while Melodic was hanging off his right thumb ,“I’ll behave.”

They stared him down for a minute before they eventually put their guns away and turned away. “Always a welcoming atmosphere, how’s it going darling?”

“It’s actually been pretty good! No one’s been stabbed and no one's been shot in the past three days! But let’s see....” scanning the room...”We’re pretty full.....Oh! Follow me!”

Leading the way for him to follow until there was one booth in the corner where there only a woman where a suit sat on one side, “Excuse me Miss, since we’re a bit full do you mind if this gentleman shares the booth with you?”

“Oh, by all means please sit then.”

“Thanks for being such a sweetheart, the usual Parla.”, sliding into the opposite side of the booth.

“Got it! Have you made up your mind Miss?”

The redhead in a suit glanced back at the menu, “I think I’ll just have the lunch special.”, waiting for Parla to write it down then handed the menu to her.

“Alrighty, I’ll try and put a rush on your orders.”

While the redhead was looking around she noticed Roman chuckling, “Is something funny?”

“Ha...for someone with your nice body I wouldn’t have guessed the lunch special.”

She blushed at the compliment at first but then her mind floated to the last bit of his sentence, “Wait...is there something wrong with it?”

“You’ll see...doesn’t look like you’re from around this neighborhood Scarlet, what brings you to the bad side of the city?”

She paused about the name but remembered even with the hat people could still see her bright red hair, “I was just taking a stroll and wandered here while I got hungry.”

“Just taking a stroll huh....do be careful then Scarlet, there's more than a couple of wolves here looking to prey on some pretty sheep.”, she looked at his expression that only held a smirk even though his words were pretty ominous.

Parla came back to set a plate with an egg, cheese and ham sandwich along with a hot cup of coffee in front of Roman before calling over a larger man who set a big plate in front of Pyrrha.

Looking at it, it was more a feast then it was for a casual lunch and she looked towards Roman whose smirk was replaced by an amusing smile before sipping his coffee, “Bon Appetit Starlet.”

\---

Committing to the lunch Pyrrha had eventually finished her plate while Roman himself was patiently drinking and watching over her. “You really can put it away can you Scarlet? Though I guess it goes to some places more than others.”

He tilted his head and she noticed he was leering at her chest to quickly cover herself, “I-i never leave things unfinished. But why are you still here even though you finished awhile ago?”

“It wouldn’t be very gracious of me to leave my lunch partner before they finished now would it?”

Despite his direct flirting just to see her reactions Pyrrha felt better with someone with her rather than eating alone which reminded her of the bits of loneliness before Beacon. “Well then, I think I’ve enjoyed a fantastic sight of someone forcing to stuff themselves enough for one day. Catch  ya later Scarlet.”

She felt a little too tired to retort until she heard her scroll vibrate and called out, “Wait! Do you know where the park is?!”

“Don’t worry my dear, you still look good even after eating all that.”

“My name is Pyrrha!...and there’s someone there waiting for me.”

Pulling out his scroll to check the time and see no texts from Neo, “Guess I have time to kill, try to keep up.”

After leaving the diner it took them about twenty minutes to reach the park where Roman sat on the same bench from yesterday while Pyrrha was looking around to find the person and texting them.

Roman took the moment of rest to lit a smoke while Pyrrha was still trying to find someone when he caught something happening in the corner of his eye. “Hey Scarlet, the person you’re looking for wouldn’t happen to be tall, blond and weak-looking would they?”

Pyrrha turned to look at him as he snapped his fingers to point off into a direction for her to follow to see a blond young man being confronted by four large and rather blood-thirsty looking men.

“Jaune!”

Jaune turned and ran to her as she ran to him with the four thugs chasing him but stopped once the two reunited. Though as Pyrrha was looking a bit worried since she didn’t have her weapon a single loud bang and the scream of the middle thug surprised her as he fell with a hole in his right leg.

“While I could care less about you boys chasing after pretty boy’s chasity, it looks like he’s already taken. Now, why don’t you just run off home like the good little kids you are and we’ll be on our way.”

The two turning around to see Roman aiming a pistol in his left hand at the thugs and moved a bit aways from him as he took control.  “The fuck you doing Roman?! This ain’t none of your goddamn business!!”

He fired again and popped his other knee and two of his buddies had to help him up while every time the fourth tried to move closer Roman aimed the gun at him, “I live around these parts if you couldn’t guess cupcake, and even I’d be disgusted at what you were going to do to this poor boy.”

“Now, we can keep having this lovely conversation....”, aiming at the fourth one to fire at his knee for him to fall over, “...or you run back to mama before I start popping more kneecaps. Your choice.”

“Y-you better watch your back Roman!”, pairing together the injured with the not injured the thugs retreat while leaving a clear blood trail. “Tsk...animals always leaving behind their droppings.”

“U-um..thank you Mr...”

Turning back to the pair after putting the gun away, “Roman Torchwick kid, don’t forget it.”

“T-thank you for your help Mr. Torchwick..”

“What were you thinking Jaune?! I told you I’d come to you!”

“Sorry Pyrrha...I didn’t expect something like that to happen..”

While he saw what he figured was the couple bickering Roman turned away once he felt his scroll vibrate to see it was Neo.

[Where are you?]

[At the park, you?]

[At home, I bought groceries.]

[Want me home so you don’t set the kitchen on fire again?]

[That was one time meanie, and can you buy more noodles before coming home?]

[Kay Ice Cream.]

Turning back around to see them still bickering, “Ahem.”

“Much as I love being a snarky third wheel I’ll excuse myself, good to meet you Pyrrha.”, holding Melodic with his arm while giving out his hand.

“Ah yes.”, Pyrrha walked up to shake his hand but missed where Roman lightly kicked a rock in front of her foot which stumbled her forward into his arms. “I like you too Scarlet but isn’t this a little too fast?”

“Pyrrha, you okay?”,  Jauney boy’s reaction was a little over the top but since he moved to Roman’s right it gave him the chance to quickly slip his hand in Pyrrha’s right pocket to attach something to the inside.

Gently pushing herself from him, “Sorry I must have tripped..umm...thank you Roman.”

“Anytime Scarlet, try and listen to your girlfriend next time Jauney boy.”, pulling his hat down a bit before leaving the couple behind.

\--

Neo was in a better mood as she cooking spaghetti in the kitchen, “I win.”

“No you didn’t, you cheated.”, she glanced back at the dinner table to see the twins Melanie and Miltiades playing a card game.

Their hairstyles were the same, put into a bun held together by metal sticks but Melanie wore a white halter top accompanied by a white short skirt.

While Miltiades wore a red mini top that only covered her breasts while showing off her midriff and red jean shorts.

“It’s speed, how can I cheat?”, Melanie crossed her arms and trying to dismiss it.

“You skipped numbers, I saw you!”, Militia continued her accusation while pointing to the finished decks.

“I didn’t cheat!”, while Neo liked having them around since they were patient with her, she loved when they fought over trivial matters. But Neo perked her head over the half wall separating the kitchen from the space to the front door when she heard a click.

Opening it, “I’m home.”, came walking in Roman holding a bag of more groceries.

“Welcome home”, the twins said in unison, but Roman was greeted by Neo’s cute smile and happy wave first. Though when he glanced at the apron she was wearing he leaned in to kiss her forehead which made her reel back.

Her face was red from the surprise kiss but when she looked to the twins for an answer why they both responded by pointing at their chest and when Neo looked down she saw what the apron said, _Kiss the Cook_ which made her pout at Roman for his teasing.

Though he set aside the groceries before pulling out a laptop from his desk to sit at the dinner table, “So there a reason why you’re here skimpy and skimper?”

“Mr. Xiong said to help you.”

“And say that you’re an idiot.”

“Plus we like little Neo’s cooking.”, they said together.

“Oh man that’s like a proposal, what do I do?”, feigning a shock reaction which made the girls giggle but he pointed them back to Neo to help her as she finished. The girls got up to help Neo while Roman opened and turned on the laptop.

Putting on the headphones connected to it, he opened an application that showed a frequency bar and on the left column had marks named, “Vale Police, Junior’s Bar, Purple Palace, and others except for the last one was labeled Awaiting activation.

Moving his arms for a second for Neo to set a plate in front of him before sitting to his right while the twins sat to his left and across at the round table. Neo grabbed his attention.

_What are you doing?_

“I met the fighter they hired and was able to plant a bug on her.”

The twins looked at him questioningly, “You carry a bug on you?”

“I like to be an opportunist.”, giving a smirk but they rolled their eyes and started eating.

Once he activated it he could start to hear voices, recognizing one of them as Pyrrha and the other one was an older man but he could hear her call him the Director. Taking them off and unplugging the headphones so the speakers would play it.

“Twins, when you’re done eating start taking notes.”

“Hai.”


	3. White Heist

Blinking his eyes open and the first thing he sees is a small hand on the table, slowly blinking a bit more before opening his eyes to see Neo, Melanie, and Miltia had all fallen asleep. He stretched his arms and cracked his neck before he regained his feelings in his limbs.

The laptop was still running but all he could hear was light snoring so he turned it off after looking at the time to see it was only two in the morning. He got up and open the door to his bedroom then pulled out the bed in the couch.

He went to pick up Neo to carefully place her on his bed before he looked through the small storage closet to grab sheets, a large blanket and two pillows. He set up the couch bed before picking up the twins one by one to set them on the bed and covering them up.

Roman went back to cover up Neo and she suddenly touched his hand for him to see her slowly opening one of her eyes, “Back to sleep cupcake, I’ll be here in the morning before you wake up. I promise.”

She nodded while he kept up his smile to ruffle her hair a bit before pulling up the blanket to cover her then did the dishes as quietly as he could and luckily didn’t wake up anybody. Once he was done cleaning up he went back to the dinner table to look at all the notes everyone took.

Mainly spoke about rotations, breaks, alarm system...but the key information was a pin number to unlock the vault. It changed to a different number at midnight every night and only the Director and President know about it at all times.

“I doubt I can get near that Director after the break-in....and the way they spoke about him says the President is in a different kingdom.”

He looked at it but he didn’t feel like thinking at the moment and looked back at the clock again, “...I’m too awake.” He got a black leather coat from his closet and his baseball cap before grabbing Melodic Cudgel and the silver pistol before heading out.

He walked the quiet streets unbothered since it really was the dead of night even for street rats. He stepped into a drug store and waved off the clerk who just seemed half-awake, looking through the small shelf of cigarette cartons until he pulled three of the brand he usually smoked.

Lucky 13.

“Quite a bit there don’t you think fella?”, the old man slowly but quickly for his age scanned the cartons.

“Been smoking for nearly a decade, why stop now old timer?”, passing the lien since he’s known how much each carton’s cost by heart after so many years.

Thinking about it for a few seconds the old man smiled, “Quite right, stay safe Roman.”, letting Roman put two of the cartons in his coat pockets while holding the third as he walked out.

Lighting a smoke before putting away the rest he headed back to the park to sit on the usual bench. “Sigh....”

“Isn’t it dangerous for you to be out at night at this time young man?”, glancing to his left was a blonde-haired woman wearing a long sleeved suit and buttoned black business skirt covering her lower body.

Though cause it was dark he couldn’t really tell if she was in her mid thirties or late twenties, but regardless she looked beautiful. “I’d say the same, pretty dangerous at night for a sweetheart like you.”

She chuckled at the mention of sweetheart, “Fortunately for me night patrol comes with the job.”, whipping her riding crop for the light on Roman’s cigarette to extinguish.

“Huntress...beautiful and powerful? What a dangerous combo.”, spitting out the cigarette and stepping on it for good measure.

Standing back up he kept his finger close to the trigger on Melodic Cudgel, “So what’s the real reason you’re here dear? Or do you actually expect me to believe that people in your position have nothing better to do than watch over this city in your spare time?”

“Hah.....I actually came to thank you for helping my students.”

“Superstar and pretty boy? Don’t expect the same kindness twice.”

“.....I’ll make a note of that, you should head on home now Mr. Torchwick.”

“Leaving so soon? I thought we could have some breakfast in bed.”, she scoffed at his words before turning around and leaving Roman to himself as he lit one then went the opposite direction.

He ended up walking down to the docks and stopped at the end of the pier to toss the vale officer’s gun into the water and watched it sink. He inhaled as his thoughts were now centered on how to get into the vault.

_Getting the pin itself is not an option, and trying to break open the vault door itself with power tools will take too long and it would require me to take out most of the guards...._

That’s when he noticed movement on the far left side of the docks where there was usually the large warehouses. He squinted until he could see one of them wearing what he knew was a mask of the White Fang group.

But what really got his attention was when they opened a crate to reveal a large amount of dust.... _Dust....now there’s a fun idea._

He pulled out his scroll and waited to connect until he heard Melanie’s voice, [Mm...Roman?]

[Get up and head for the mansion, I’ve found a way into the vault so be ready when I come.]

Hanging up before she could answer he quickly made his way to the warehouses on the far left under the shroud of darkness.

\---

“Come on let’s move it.”, a large white fang member ordering several others as they were moving crates of dust.

A woman member ran up to the one in charge, “Sir, we just got the rest of the shipment.”

“Alright, if we just put them away then we’re ahead of schedule, you two!”, he turned and addressed the two WF members standing guard outside.

Until one had screamed before disintegrating into ashes, seeing a figure behind him the other member tried to attack but they swung to knock him down and aimed their weapon for them to suffer the same fate.

“Well, well. Looks like the rats are having a party and I wasn’t invited?”

Including the one in charge there was only eight white fang members left as they pulled their swords staring at the shadowy figure, “Show yourself!”

He could make out a smirk before the leader saw a flash of light wiz past him to blast away the WF member next to him. Four more shots came flying for them to take cover as they now realized how strong the shots were as it left craters once it hit.

“Now, now it’s boring if you just hide.”, the leader glanced over the table he flipped over to see a man wearing a black coat spinning a cane with his middle finger. He saw a green glimmer before rolling away from the table when another shot blast it to pieces.

“Who do you think you are?!”

“Roman Torchwick sunshine, lovely to meet you and happy to send you off.”, firing another shot the leader dodged and ran as he gripped his sword to quickly close the distance between them.

Going for a wide swing but was stopped by the cane as Roman parried and hit his chin with an open palm to stun him. Roman tossed up his cane to grab the bottom and used the handle to pull the leader’s head downwards into his knee for him to stumble back before firing another shot.

But the leader was able to regain focus and raise his sword to block the blast but still sent him flying to crash into a crate of dust. “Ugh....get the human!”

The remaining six WF members nodded and rushed for Roman, but Roman noticed the red dust at his feet and kicked it up to toss it at the rushing group. And immediately fired a shot causing a large fiery explosion, “Haha! Didn’t think a barbecue was this good!”

But through the thick smoke the two in the back had rushed through and swung down at him but he parried again for an assault. Quickly hitting their hands with his cane to disarm them. He kicked the left one’s leg for him to slip back and fall on his face before hitting the right one with a body blow then a golf swing to the face.

The right one had lost his vision for a few seconds as he was stumbling back but Roman used Melodic to pull the downed one by his collar before tossing him to the stumbling one.

Roman saw the blinded one grabbed the one he tossed before pressing the barrel on his chest and pulling the trigger to fire and both them to disintegrate into ashes. Which shocked the leader but when he tried to get up he winced in pain to see a piece of wood had pierced his leg.

“Oooo looks like you got a bit of booboo there my friend.”, Roman walking over before stomping on the pierced leg for him to scream. Then he kicked the side of his head to shut him up, “Finally some peace and quiet.”

Making his way to the bench he grabbed the two empty briefcases and started filling them with a random assortment of dust until they were completely filled. But he stopped once he could hear very light footsteps then turned to where the warehouse entrance was, to see Blake from the water animal show.

“W-where...are the White Fang?”

“Well sunshine over there is sleeping and if I’m remembering right you’re standing in them Kitty Cat.”, she looked down to see the bits of white ashes on the ground before jumping out of it.

Looking at the time he was about to grab the bags until he heard a click, “Why did you do it?”, glancing over back to Blake as she aimed her weapon at him while it was in gun-form.

“Sorry Kitty, as much as I’d love to play twenty questions with you I’m a very busy man you know?”

“You didn’t have to kill them.”

Looking down on the bench he grabbed the ice crystal, “They didn’t have to be so weak.”, tossing at Blake and fired at it for a cold explosion to freeze the space it detonated. But when it cleared she was gone, “...women.”

He grabbed the cases and headed for the entrance after taking the scroll off the leader and dialed....[Vale Police Department, how can I help you?]

[Oh oh, thank goodness you answered! I-i saw some of those terrorists at the docks a-and oh my god they’re killing someone!], tossing the scroll back into the warehouse as he could hear the person on the other line asking if it was a joke.

Roman aimed Melodic at the stacks of dust, “Showtime.”, and fired before leaving as the warehouse exploded causing a bang loud enough to wake the city.

\----

“Woah...that’s a lot of cops.”, the twins watched from a rooftop close by to the mansion while they could see numerous police cars rushing to where there was an explosion and numerous citizens had come out to check what it was.

“Look, even that Beacon Academy is up.”, Melanie pointed towards where Beacon was now shining and they could see a few transport ships coming from there.

“Didn’t expect to blow up the whole dock but either way it works.”, suddenly Roman got in between them as he had his arms around their shoulders. “Hey Roman.”, they said together.

“How’s the mansion looking?”, setting the two briefcases down before Melanie handed him a pair of binoculars.

“It looks like most of the guards that were sleeping are awake now.”

“But most of the look like they’re about to collapse from lack of sleep anyway.”

He scanned the mansion’s windows and sure enough he could see guards wandering around, some of them already sleepwalking but he looked around to the other buildings near the mansion for some movement, “Looks like we’re not the only ones taking advantage. Let’s go!”

“Hai!”

Both twins grabbed one of the briefcases and followed Roman as he jumped far enough while using aura to reduce the fall damage to nothing. “Hey!”

Before the guard could raise their gun, Roman fired Melodic at his feet and exploded as he could see the top half of the guard flying off a few feet away. “Thought you’d be more quiet.”

Glancing over to the twins where they caught a glimpse of Roman’s sadistic smile before assuming his usual smirk, “I already started the party with a bang, why stop now?”

They casually walked up to the front door as they could hear sounds of fighting from multiple directions. Roman fired at the locked doors to blast them open revealing some reception room but at the end of it of he could see a staircase where two figures were fighting.

Though Melanie saw the one guard coming from the left and dashed to leap over him as her bladed heels sparkled in the light before doing an arc kick and landing behind the man. The man’s head split open before his body crumbled to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

“Ugh...I think I got brain in my heels...”, Melanie whined but both Miltia and Roman rolled their eyes. “Come on, leave the grunts to the other rats.”

He walked towards the end and fired at the two in combat on the stairs for their blood and guts to be splattered on the walls. The girls shrugged and followed after him as they could see numerous thugs and guards fighting each other.

At the second floor they continued on unbothered until they reached a pair of grand doors but turned their eyes when across the hallway three unknowns broke through the window and stopped to stare down Roman and the twins with only a few meters between them.

From left to right it was a woman in scantily clad leather armor while wielding a pair of daggers, the middle one was a brutish looking man holding a heavy mace and the last one was a skinny looking fellow holding a scimitar.

“Sorry lady and gents, but your princess is in another castle.”, immediately firing on them for them to disperse as Melanie rushed for the woman and Miltia rushed the skinny kid. Though the brutish man leaped forward to swing down but Roman dodged at the last second when he crushed the ground.

“I know I’m pretty,” gripping Melodic he swung to smack his face down and they recovered by spinning to a wide swing which Roman ducked before using the handle to grab and pull his leg for him to fall back, “But you’re just not my type.”

The brute growled as he got back up and rushed to swing for Roman’s arm but Roman clicked his cane to fire the handle hitting him in the face before kicking the man’s crotch for him to crumble to his hands and knees.

Roman grabbed the handle still hooked with a metal thread to get behind the man before wrapping the thread around his neck and pulled as the man was gasping for air. Then he stomped on the man’s back as he pulled for the threads to tighten and he could see blood splatter out until the man’s body went limp.

Letting the body drop before he clicked Melodic for the handle to come back and reattach to the base then turning to see Miltia swing her claws to slice off the kid’s head and catching it, “I thought mercenaries were suppose to be good.”

Though they turned to Melanie as she dug her heel into the back of the woman as she was on her knees clutching to her bleeding arm and could see multiple cuts on her body. “What about her?”

Roman grabbed the briefcases before squatting to stare at the woman who was crying from pain, “She may be worth a bit if I just sell her off to a brothel or some slave owner.”, which made Melanie pull out her heel and step away as the woman collapsed to the ground only to look up to Roman. “P-please....”

Giving his usual smile before aiming Melodic Cudgel at her face, “Too bad I’m not into that.” and firing for her to disintegrate into ashes.

“So cruel.”, they said in unison as they waited at the doors but he ignored it before throwing the cases for them to catch. He kicked open the double doors for them to swing open as they entered some kind of a grand gallery.

It was filled with numerous pieces of both obscure and magnificent pieces of art but they ignored and continued down towards the end of the room as a lone figure stood there and Roman couldn’t help but smile.

“Roman....”, the lights suddenly turning on and now they could clearly see each other.

“My my, while the suit was so slimming on you this huntress outfit of yours is so much more beautiful my dear Starlet.”, opening his arms as if inviting a hug from her but Pyrrha was only conflicted.

“Why are you doing this....?”, Roman gestured the twins to not involved and so they pushed a vase over and sat on the stone holding it.

“Cause I’m a criminal Starlet, simple as that.”

“But...then why did you help me and Jaune?!”

“That was more a turf matter than anything else sweetheart, but I hope we can still have lunch after this.” aiming Melodic Cudgel at her.

She readied herself holding Akouo up, “I...I’ll stop you here and now.”

“Bit of advice then cupcake, unlike your little tournaments...”, reaching for his back pocket to pull out a fire and ice crystal, “...There are no rules.”

He tossed the crystals up and fired for an explosion before a fog settled in, effectively lowering her vision. Gripping Milo and Akouo as she slowly walked forward, “What’s it like being super girl?”

Turning around after hearing his voice but still unable to see, until she stumbled forward from a hit to the back before spinning around to swing at nothing. “Keeping up appearances must be difficult for such a young girl.”

Getting hit in the back of her right leg by his cane to recover for a wide swing before blocking a swing about to hit her face and pushing him back. Roman shot the hook handle at her leg and flipped her but she bounced off his cane when he swung before landing on her feet.

Roman fired and she responded to raise Akouo to block but flew out of the fog from the knockback. She quickly dodged his successive shots to fire her rifle but Roman hit the bullets away with ease, “Come on Starlet, where’s the skills that’ll make me fall for you like all the other poor saps.”

She charged again but threw her shield for him to knock away before she swung but Roman raised his cane fast enough to block even though she was able to cut his shoulder, “Finally going for some blood darling?”

Using his strength he pushed her back to fire again but she cut the shot in half then rushing again to exchange blows.

While Pyrrha was adept at offense and defense she couldn’t break Roman’s guard or stop his light but quick strikes because he adopted a style that mastered defense and countering. So every strike she attempted, he struck back three times.

She swung and knocked Melodic out of his hands and tried to follow it up slashing him when he caught the blade with his hands. “Ooo getting feisty are we?”, he kicked her in the stomach for her to fall back as she lost her grip on Milo.

Spinning Milo in his hands he accidentally made it form into it’s javelin form. He pulled out another flame crystal and tossed it passed Pyrrha for it to get stuck into the massive painting on the wall. He threw Milo for it to fly and just cut a strand of Pyrrha’s hair before passing then she felt an explosion behind her that knocked her down.

Once the smoke cleared she used her semblance to retake Milo and Akouo but she saw now Roman with his cane again and the two girls standing beside him. “Now that...is an impressive vault.”

Turning to look behind her Pyrrha could see the massive vault door but she readied herself, “You still plan to take me down sweetheart?”

She stayed silent but Roman sighed at it, “....Then I hope you got nine lives my lovely Pyrrha.” Gesturing to the twins they nodded and threw the briefcases as Roman aimed.

In the second she saw the flying cases open to see the large amount of dust she gritted her teeth and held up Akouo as Roman fired for a colorful explosion while the twins held on to his coat to not fly from the shockwave.

The smoke quickly dispersed as he could see Pyrrha on the ground against the little bit of the vault that survived while the rest of it had been blasted if not looked melted away. Walking over to her he knelt down before pressing two fingers on her neck and waited till he could feel her pulse.

“Thanks for making it fun Starlet,” ruffling her hair before entering the vault as there was only one thing there at the center. “That’s it?”

“What is it?”

“That girls, is a key to open locked doors.”, reaching for the object on the pedestal to reveal it as some flash-drive before putting it in his pocket. “Come go, let’s go home.”

“Hey what about her?”

As they were walking Melanie pointing back to the knocked out Pyrrha, “The other robbers still here might kidnap her Roman.”

Remembering something from before after hearing the word kidnap made him sigh, then he went over to Pyrrha to pick her up. “Cover me then.”

\-----

After anonymously dropping off Pyrrha at a nearby open hospital and making sure the doctors took her in the trio went to grab some fast-food before returning back to his apartment.

Though when Roman opened the door the first thing he saw was Neo coming out his bedroom with only a towel and wet hair. “Morning ice cream,” seeing her blush before she got back into room and shut the door as they could hear her quickly getting dressed while they came in.

“Neo is so adorable”, they said unison.

“Hands off.”, Roman grabbed his laptop again while the girls put the food on the table and ate their breakfast. “So what is it Roman?”

“Half of it for us and half of it for something else.”

They looked at him with a puzzled expression, “What’s the something else?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll see on the news.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like some food and murder to start the morning off.  
> I'm probably not the best at action and fight scenes so if you know works that have some good ones to study on it'd help me out. Probably do a bit Roman x Neo next chapter.


	4. Just Smile For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman takes advantage whenever he can and happy Neo is best Neo.

[Hey Junior, if you care to listen then I got it. Get everything set up and make sure you get  **all of them** .], hanging up after leaving a voicemail and turning back to Neo who was eating her breakfast after the twins left.

“Sleep alright cupcake?”, showing his usual smile she nodded.

_ How did it go? _

“Better than expected, though I guess this cut may not suggest so.”, Roman was shirtless but Neo’s eyes gravitated to his left shoulder that was bandaged by the twins before they left.

After finishing her food she washed her hands before returning to the topic,  _ So what was the thing? _

Shaking his head, “Like I told the twins, you’ll see on the news....Hey Neo, why don’t we go buy some new clothes for you?”

Looking at her current attire she was just wearing a black dress that ran down to just above her knees and agreed with a nod. “Alright, I’m gonna shower first then we’ll head out.”

\----

“Guess my little show has everyone on their heels,” walking next to Neo while his attire was a black suit and black bowler hat with a red band when they noticed an increase in Vale officers walking around and a few hunters/huntresses patrolling as well.

_ Was that explosion you last night? _

He shrugged, “I knew it’d blow up the warehouse, I didn’t think I’d take the rest of the dock with it.”

_ You need to be more careful Roman.... _ , he looked at her worried expression before using his hands to push up the ends of her mouth to have a smile instead, “That’s better.”

Grabbing his hands to put them down from her as she could feel some redness in her face, giving him a light chuckle, “Come on, that boutique over there looks like it might have some good stuff.”

Turning her around to push her into the store that displayed numerous fashionable clothing. “How about this Velvet? It goes with your ears.”

“That’s not normal clothes Coco!”, while Neo was somewhat looking at the clothing Roman glanced to where the noise was to see two girls.

One rabbit faunus and one human who at this point smelled like straight coffee when the smell traveled to him. But the clothes that the girl called Coco presented to the rabbit was similar to the ones worn by women at the casinos....a bunny girl outfit.

Tuning them out he turned back but Neo disappeared from his sight and it was strangely harder since the boutique interior was very pink itself. Not bothering to try and look he immediately texted her, [Where are you?]

[Underwear section, stay away.]

He snickered but listened and stole a seat that was placed in front of the changing rooms before he started playing the game on his scroll to try and beat Neo’s high score. “Come on, it looks good doesn’t it?”

“You say I look good in everything.”

“Fine, you want a second opinion? Then how about....Ah!”, Roman felt her slender fingers before he was yanked from his chair, “This guy! Doesn’t look like he’s busy.”

Confused at first but he snapped back to reality, “I generally charge for my services you know?”

‘I’ll treat you later, what do you think?”, the one called Coco gestured him and he sighed as he walked up to the rabbit girl and studied how the current attire looked on her, yet Velvet herself was regretting it now due to her shy nature.

Velvet’s current attire was that of a white blouse and a black miniskirt which he figured made her more uncomfortable to wear since he was looking now. “I’m guessing you’re pretty shy with how red your getting so this set of clothes don’t really match your personality.”

“Y-yeah....”, though what shocked her was when he put his hands on her waist and shoulders to measure her though Coco was getting a kick out of her cute reactions at this point, “Pretty slender, do you prefer skirts or pants?”

“I-i usually wear pants so...”

Taking his hands off her to look at a rack of jeans and shuffling through them to pull out a pair of navy-blue jeans, “Try this and...” looking through a different rack to pull out a white v-neck shirt with a similar navy blue vest that buttoned up just to the chest and was long enough to cover the zipper of the pants, “..this.”

After handing her the clothes Coco pushed Velvet to go put on the clothes while Roman himself turned to see Neo holding some clothing, “Found something you like ice cream?”

_ Flirting again? _

“You question as if it actually means anything when obviously I only care about you sweetheart.”, she punched him for his teasing but she loved the confident smile he always gave when he did it, “Well you gonna try them on so I can see dear?”

She nodded and he pushed her towards the empty changing room for her to pull the curtain while he sat in the seat in front of it when his scroll rang to see it was an unknown, [Don’t waste my time.]

[Hello again Roman.], recognizing the same sultry voice from the fiery woman made him look around the boutique, [Plan to ruin my day this early dollface?]

[It was you last night wasn’t it?]

[Have to give me something more than last night darling, even I don’t know what I do these days.]

[You blew up the docks along with some personnel that belongs to an associate of mine.]

[Oh really? I hope they aren’t too mad, but I’m sure you can calm them down if you just spread your legs for them sweetie.]

[Remind me to educate that mouth of yours when you’re mine.]

[As much as I’d love to suck you off I’ll have to decline. Now do me a favor and get laid or something to get rid of all that repressed tension in your voice, it really doesn’t suit you my dear.], hearing a hiss before hanging up.

Noticing Neo looking while keeping the curtain to not reveal herself as she signed with one hand,  _ Who was it? _

_ The sexy lady from the park, but don’t worry about it. I’ll have a talk with Junior to see if I can’t do something. Now come on show me. _

Opening the curtain showed Neo wearing a black corset which Roman noticed had curved down at the middle to the bottom which exposed her hips, a black belt accompanied with brown pants and grey boots with very high heels. 

Though Roman’s first reaction was to chuckle which shocked Neo at first and made her panic but he got up to put his hands on her hips, “It’s nothing bad, I was just wondering where’d you learn to look so sexy.”

Neo punched him in the stomach but he didn’t budge while she was embarrassed how he could say that with a straight face and the fact that his hands were on her didn’t help her thoughts, “What made you choose the corset though?”

_ W-well...the girls you bring home usually wear this thing.... _

Giving a happy smile, “Well unlike those girls I prefer to keep you to myself so how about...”, looking through a rack of clothes before pulling out a white jacket that stopped and buttoned at the chest while having a pink exterior, “..this? White looks good on you and the pink matches your hair.”

Taking it and putting it on herself before looking back up to Roman, “Beautiful.”

While Neo knew Roman prefered the crimes and the criminal life cause it was his way of reminding him of his freedom she’d never tell or let him know that she’d prefer these peaceful moments when it was just them. She’s usually with him when he’s doing jobs but she’s always afraid whenever he decides to do things on his own that she may not see him when she wakes up.

But she’s trusted him and he’s always kept his promise....no matter what condition he’d show up in that he’d always be there for her. “Hmm? Something on my face Neo?”, now realizing how long she’s been staring she pushed him away for him to laugh a bit.

“Hah...you good with that cupcake?”

_ Yes _ .

“Hey cool guy, thanks for the help.”

“T-thank you Mister.”, turning to see Coco who was in good spirits while Velvet was wearing the clothes he picked out and she looked more comfortable in them then the other set of clothing. “Why don’t you pay for your girlfriend’s clothes and we head for a cafe?”

“That sounds good, what do you say ice cream?”

Neo hooked on the word girlfriend but snapped back into the situation and signed,  _ Yes _

\-----

Roman and Neo followed the girls to some cafe and Coco kept her deal and paid for the food and drinks. “So you two are huntresses?”

“W-what gave it away?”

Sipping his coffee first, “Nothing, it was just a guess that you answered for me sweetheart.”

“Oh....”, Velvet felt embarrassed for walking into it so easily yet Coco seemed to be drooling at her which made Roman question this huntress’ current thoughts but then dismissed it as something not worth the mental effort.

“If you don’t mind me asking darling, what’s it like to be a faunus?”

“Oh Velvet....”, Coco looked worried but Velvet reassured her.

“It’s...difficult at times, I’m proud to be a faunus but it’s...very hard to keep a smile all the time. I’ve been bullied and sometimes harassed but I can’t let them stop me, plus I’ve got such good friends by my side..”, she smiled at Coco and Roman felt he could somewhat relate in some ways...minus the faunus and bully part.

“That’s why I’m happy where I am and can only hope that others realize we’re not all that different...”

“Indeed....a bit of advice darling. No matter how long you smile it’ll break at some point. It’s better if you confront this when it happens rather than let it go on until it’s too hard to hold it in and it’ll hurt those around you more than hurting yourself.”

Neo was looking at him with a confused expression even though she knew the facade he was holding was meant to deal with people. “Well I think it’s time for me and the little lady to go. Thanks for the meal ladies.”

“Thank you um....”

“Roman Torchwick, catch you later.”

The pair left together and once Neo made sure they were out of earshot,  _ So what was all that about? _

“What jealous?”, earning a punch which made him chuckle but he continued, “At some point I’ll likely be working with the faunus and it’s better to learn how to persuade the side that hates humans and the side that’s trying to befriend humans.”

“Everything’s a learning experience my dear, just gotta make sure you know what you’re looking for.”, looking at his scroll to check the time. “Come on Neo, there’s someone I should visit since it’ll start in a bit.”

With Roman leading the way they made it to the same hospital from last night and he waited until he heard where Pyrrha’s room was and went for it. Once he got there he saw the boy Jaune come out and glance as they walked past each other but ultimately he didn’t notice him.

Opening the door to see Pyrrha looking out the window, “Did you forget something Jaune?”, closing the door behind him while gesturing Neo to hold the door while he sat in the chair next to Pyrrha’s bed.

“No, I just missed you that much Starlet.”, she quickly turned and was shocked before she tried to attack him but he pushed her back down on the bed before pulling back, “Ah ah, you need to rest young lady.”

“All those guards....all the damage...all for what?!”

“Glad you ask my dear, why don’t you take a look at who hired you and what kind of secrets you were suppose to protect.”, picking up the remote and pointed to look at the TV as he changed it to the news channel to show the news reporter Lisa Lavender.

“A terrible day for the kingdom of Vale. An anonymous phone call to the police suggesting that the terrorist group known as the White Fang are the prime suspects for the destruction of the docks.”

“What does”

“The next part sweetheart,” lightly turning her face back to the screen.

“But that’s not the only terrible thing; files from an anonymous source were sent to our station revealing that the President of the number one security company in Vale known as ARMORED has partaken in if not control a sex slave ring and recorded video of him molesting and raping dozens of young girls. As of now all of ARMORED’s known partners have pulled out and clients have sent the personnel from the company packing.”

Turning off the TV as Pyrrha was just shocked after hearing that, “I’m a lot of things Starlet, a thief, a killer, a trickster, and the list goes on but....a rapist and a pedofile I am not.”

“It must be fake, all of it....”

“The real world isn’t kind dear, and it’s much darker than you actually see it.”

“Why....are you telling me this?”

Standing back up she caught a glimpse of his sadistic smile before his usual smirk, “You made that night fun, haven’t had a real fight in a while...too many weaklings these days you understand.”

“This won’t be the last time we see each other since I'm a criminal and you’re a huntress but keep your ears open, maybe you’ll learn something sweetheart.”

Looking at the clock, “Well then, ever feel like having lunch together again Starlet you know where to look.”, getting up and leaving Pyrrha’s room and the hospital.

Lighting a smoke as they walked back to the park quietly to sit at their usual spot,  _ Gonna tell me what the other half of that flash drive that’s for us now? _

Inhaling before blowing a puff out, “In this world, information is more powerful than money. Knowing who the suppliers and who the consumers are is the best chance to stay ahead of the game.”

“Thanks to the President for recording all his shady dealings, I know which and how many cards are in the deck. Now I just have build my hand for a success.”

_ You’re gonna be careful right? _

Looking back to her he gave his usual smile, “Don’t worry Neo, I’ll always have time to spend with my favorite ice cream.”

She blushed as she looked away but she felt very happy to hear that,  _ What do you want me to do? _

Putting his arm around her shoulders to pull her in close, “All I want you to do Neo, is stay by my side...and just smile for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one this chapter but it's mainly just interaction between our duo, expect team RWBY next chapter.


	5. Wet Encounter

“How’s Pyrrha doing Jaune?”

“She’ll be fine, her aura took all the damage from the dust explosion so she just needs to stay in bed for a couple of days since they moved her back here. But she hasn’t said who she was fighting.”

Sitting at the courtyard, was Jaune along with Ruby and Weiss. “Maybe she didn’t know who it was? It was probably really crazy.”

“Ruby is right Jaune, didn’t you see the news? The estate looked like a warzone, it sounded like a bunch of gangs attacked at the same time.”

“Yeah but....how did Pyrrha get to the hospital that night then? The one who fought her was probably the one who took her to them so she must have heard or saw them at that point....”

Weiss patted Jaune’s shoulder, “Pyrrha’s smart Jaune, she has her reasons and we can only wait for her to tell us.”

Thinking about it until he slapped himself to get through him before standing up, “Thanks Weiss, maybe you’re not such an Ice Queen after all.”

Annoyed, Weiss kicked his shin before they waved each other off, “Still though...Pyrrha is pretty amazing don’t you think Weiss? I mean they showed photos of where she fought and the vault door was completely gone from the explosion.”

“Well, if she took the job to get a challenge there's nothing bigger than cheap and unpredictable criminals. That reminds me...has Yang heard from Blake yet?”

“Nope....she and Sun are still out looking for her, maybe it has to do with the White Fang blowing up the docks?

“Great, the one thing she still tries to keep us away from. It’s weird though, what do they gain from destroying the docks?”

Going to answer when Ruby’s scroll rang to check it was Yang, [Hey sis, did you and Sun find Blake?]

[No but we think we saw her go into a shady place....can you grab my hunter outfit? You and Weiss change too, the place she went in is that kind of place.]

[Okay, we’ll meet you there.], hanging up.

After getting changed and quickly leaving to meet up with Yang in the more.....shady part of town where Yang quickly got changed before meeting up with Sun who was standing watch at a nearby alley.

“You guys sure take your sweet time.”, Sun leaned against the wall as the girls showed up.

“We’re girls, we gotta prepare!”

“Whatever, so what’s the place?”

Yang brought their attention to the one good-looking building on the street, “That’s the place we saw her go in, it’s suppose to be a club but the owner is a pretty shifty guy.”

The three looked towards her, “You know the owner?”

“Welll.....let’s say we know each other. But he doesn’t know who you guys are so it’ll be easier for you guys to move around.”

They nodded and followed Yang a few minutes after she went in when they were blinded by the flashing lights and the sound of the music blaring. “Damn...how we gonna find Blake here?”, Sun mumbled but Ruby was looking for Yang while Weiss noticed stairs leading up to a second floor.

“Maybe we can get a better view from up there. Ruby go find Yang and make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m on it!” , they watched Ruby move into the crowds of people before going up the stairs to find tables placed near the railing while to the walls there was booths that had curtains closed and some open.

Though when Sun saw one was cracked open and could see a man with a satisfied face while a woman was on her knees in front of him, he quickly covered Weiss’ eyes before she turned to see it, “W-woah there Ice Queen, nothing you wanna see there.”

“W-what Sun get your hands out of my fac...”, glancing to the scene he tried to stop her from seeing made her red and she quickly went aways to the railing with Sun behind her. “Yeah...I tried.”

“Not. Another. Word. Just look for Blake...”, trying to erase that sight from her mind while Sun was busy trying to find Blake in the crowds.

⧫⧫⧫

“I still can’t believe your sorry ass actually did it.”, Junior looking tired as he sat with Roman on the second floor when he noticed a girl in white with a monkey faunus make their way to the railing.

“When have I ever disappointed you? Did you get everything set up?”

Shaking his head as he passed a file, “Yeah, you’re new workplace is not that far from the docks, the building covering it is labeled condemned so no one will go near it. Besides its not like any cops got the balls to patrol our area.”

“And the other thing?”

“The security company is gonna take awhile to do but I’ve had my boys track down every client ARMORED had so we’ll be ready to _offer_ our protection when everything is set to go.”

They drank to the success but then Roman remembered, “There’s still one more matter, that fiery lady.”

“Yeah, what’d you do to piss her off? Felt damn chills from her just looking at me.”

“She knows my reputation, but after our first meeting it felt like it’s wouldn’t be in my best interests to be with her. Just try and find out who the hell she is and her associates.”

Suddenly one of Junior’s men came up to their table, “M-mr. Xiong, sir!”

“Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“S-sir, it’s blondie. One of the others said they saw her enter.”

“What?!”

Roman quickly finished the rest of his drink, “This the same blondie that wiped the floor with your sorry ass?”

“ROMAN!!!!!”

Hearing a roar Roman and Junior went to the railing to see a muscular man at the center of the dance floor. “I KNOW YOU'RE HERE TORCHWICK GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!!!!!”

Junior glared at Roman and he only shrugged, “What can I say? I’m devilishly popular.”

“Well he’s here for you so go deal with it.....just remember no blood Roman.”

Roman sighed before lighting a smoke then making his way down the stairs, “I’m here gorilla boy, no need to shout and deafen my ears with your horrible singing.”

“You’re gonna pay you fucking prick!”, Roman now stepping down to the dance floor to confront the man as the people stepped away from them though a few key eyes kept watch.

“Pay for what exactly? You’re gonna have to refresh my memory sunshine, I don’t remember every sucker I deal with or every woman I’ve slept with.”

Filled with rage the man raised his right arm and went for a straight which Roman lightly pushed to the side while using his foot to trip him forward on his face. “Oh darling, I know you want me but I’m just not interested.”

The man quickly got back up to his feet with a slightly bloodier nose, “You shot my brother’s legs you fucking asshole!”

“Oh that’s adorable, he was so weak and afraid of confessing his love that he sent his big brother for him? Now that is hilarious my dear.”

“Keep talking you fucking prick, without your little cane you’re just a damn punching bag.”

“You know you actually have to hit me to call me a punching bag my friend.”, giving a smirk and the crowds own input only continued to infuriate the man as they could see him steaming.

He punched straight again but Roman moved before punching him in the left side of his face, though the man was unfazed and tried to swing his left arm. Roman blocked the hit before stomping on his foot then throwing in an uppercut at the man’s chin to hear his teeth click as he stumbled back.

Wiping the man-dirt off the sleeve of his suit, “You know, just cause I usually have a weapon doesn’t mean I don’t know how to brawl my hideous friend.”

The man felt his jaw first before eventually spitting out blood and a tooth into his hand before looking back at Roman who held an amused smile, “You’re fucking dead.”

“Dear, you’re a broken record we’ll need to fix you.”, with that last remark the man wiped the blood off his lip before pulling out a curved switchblade. “I’m gonna cut your face up pretty boy.”

“Oh son...hasn’t your mother told you not to play with knives?”, while the man saw Roman take a step back out of what he figured was fear was actually Roman just readying himself as he reached behind before putting his finger through the hole and unsheathed the karambit knife strapped to him.

“Fraid now aren’t you boy?”, slowly stepping closer to Roman while unknowing the blade in his hand was ready.

“Oh I’m trembling with excitement.”, the man rushed forward for a downward swing, _dodged_ , then a wide swing, _dodged_ , but when he went to lunge with a thrust he could see a smile and a green glimmer off Roman’s eyes before the pain kicked in.

The man’s scream filled the air as he fell to his knees while gripping his right arm that was cut from his hand all the way up to his shoulder while blood dripped from it. “You cheap fuck!”

Roman pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his knife, “Whoever said this fight was fair my dear?”

“Roman! I said no blood!, looking up to Junior, “It’s not like he’s dead Junior.”, spinning his knife before putting it away as Junior’s men dragged the man away and eventually cleaned the blood before the party was back in full motion.

\---

Yang and Ruby had eventually met up with Weiss and Sun as they took over a booth, “This place is insane! It’s like nothing happened!”

“Well this is more or a less a criminal club Weiss, doubt any of this is new to these folks,” Yang said while trying to calm Weiss down.

Ruby looked towards Sun, “Were you guys able to see Blake when you were up there?”

“Sigh....no...when it comes to hiding Blake is too good...she may have blended herself in the crowd when those two guys were fighting.”

“I could ask Junior if he’s seen her but.....I don’t think that’ll work”, she thought but Yang quickly dismissed it after remembering the incident.

“Ummm what about that Torchwick guy?”, Ruby said which caught everyone’s attention.

“The guy who just fought? What about him?”

“It’s the same guy that helped Pyrrha and Jaune out right? Maybe he can help us out.”

“Ruby....that Roman guy just cut open another man’s arm without a second thought. Are you really thinking straight?”, Weiss exclaimed while also bringing up a good point.

“I doubt he’ll just help us for free.... but if anyone then it probably has to be me or Ruby that asks him, he might think Sun is there for another fight and sorry princess but I don’t think you’re cut out for persuasion.”

“Just be careful guys....where is he anyway?”, Sun started looking until they saw Roman sat at the bar while the man called Junior was busy talking with his men at the front doors.

“Rock, paper, scissors?, Ruby and Yang played three rounds and the end result was Yang won before Ruby walked over to the bar and tried to sit next to Roman as normally as she could.

“H-hey, it’s pretty crazy here r-right?”, Ruby attempted at starting a conversation while trying to remain steady and confident but it was written all over her face when Roman just took one quick glance.

“Take a breath Red, you’re literally rocking the bar and not in the good way.”, drinking his shot before pouring another one.

Rubbing the back of her head trying to wave off the nervousness, “Y-yeah, sorry...first time here.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Keeping her hands together to keep herself steady, “Um..you might not remember but you helped my friends Jaune and Pyrrha.”

Thinking for a second, “Starlet and Jauney boy?

Ruby giggled at the mention of Roman’s name for Jaune but quickly brought it back, “Y-yes them, I was just wondering if I could ask you for a favor to help me find a friend.

“And who is this friend that you’re looking for Red?”

“Her name is Blake, usually wears all black, um..a bow and....she likes tuna?”

Roman took a second to gather the information before a smile etched on his face before turning back to Ruby who was slightly confused, “You know I don’t do anything for free Red.”

Piecing it together she quickly rummaged through her pockets, “I don’t have much.....”

Though she was very surprised when he carefully placed his hand on her right thigh, “I was thinking of a more.....”, leaning close to whisper in her left ear “...personal payment.”

She felt her face lit up when like a blur she disappeared out of his sight and back to the booth with everyone else as they could actually hear Roman laughing through the blaring music.

“Ruby what happened?!”, Yang worried about her.

But the redness on her face didn’t go away so quickly, “I-i don’t want to talk about it...”

“Guess it’s up to me then.”, psyching herself then sauntering over to the bar while catching a few dozen eyes before setting herself to lean against the counter next to Roman.

Before she could even get a word in, “First a cute, innocent angel and now a beautiful, confident temptress? Hell must be punishing me now.”

Yang smiled at the mention of beautiful but, “Heh, yeah sorry about my sister. She gets nervous at this kind of stuff, especially with someone who’s pretty good-looking.”, giving him a wink but he barely gave a response with a chuckle.

“Heh....Junior was right about you being a firecracker dollface.”

“I try.”, showing off her confidence.

He poured a shot to slide it over to Yang before gesturing her to drink, while he eyed her body from head to toe, “That firecracker attitude apply in bed too?”, expecting her to choke on it but she didn’t break and only smiled after drinking the shot.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

He whistled from her response, “Not bad Blondie, much better than Little Red. Since you’re easier on the eyes, I’ll throw you a bone. The one you're looking for is a runner and runners don’t get caught unless they want to be.”

“She’s a good friend and my partner, but I don’t got the experience.”

“Well I know one thing for sure when it comes to things like this, if you’re such good partners then she’ll come save you....”, getting off the stool before smiling as he wrapped one arm around Yang’s waist pulling her in closer, “...from me.”

While Yang still held her guard up against Roman she could feel her cheeks getting redder by how close their faces were, “You know you’re even prettier holding it in sweetheart.”

“You can’t b-break me...”, hearing a crack in her voice only solidified his confidence that was also supported by a few shots sitting in him. Leaning in to breath down her neck, “Is. That. Right?”

Before he could move his hand to a certain place Yang gently pushed him back, “Sorry....I have to go to the bathroom real quick.”, giving him a smile before turning around.

The bartender walked to Roman as they both watched her speed walk off to the bathroom with three other figures following her, “I think she almost cracked Mr. Torchwick.”

Raising his fist for the bartender to fist bump, “Too easy...”, before the man poured Roman another drink though he glanced to the other side of the club to see a pair of yellow eyes in the dark staring at him. “Gotta move at some point Kitty Cat.”

Hearing Junior sigh as he came to the bar and stole Roman’s drink to down it, “Fucking useless all of them, bright yellow hair how hard is it to lose her?!”

Gesturing the bartender to pour another one, “If you’re looking for blondie she went to the bathroom.”

“Goddamn....wait you met her?”

Taking his drink first, “...Blondie and her little band are looking for their little friend who’s waiting in the shadows here.”

“Sounds like a Roman problem, do me a favor and leave before she wrecks my place again.”

“Aww Junior you’re gonna kick me out? But I need-”

“Just....make sure if you’re gonna fight you do it far away from here.”

“Aye aye captain.”, waving him off while Junior put his hand to his temple as if having a headache before leaving Roman.

Hearing a ping from his scroll to check it was Neo, [Coming home late?]

[Probably, did you already eat with the twins?]

[Yeah, is it okay if they stay the night?]

[Long as they don’t touch my stuff, or drink my beer.]

[Careful walking home.]

[Love you too Neo.], putting his scroll away as he was about to reach for his drink.

But he suddenly felt a chill down his spine as he knew someone else was watching him now, Roman looked towards the bartender for a second when he nodded and bent down under the counter before coming back up to discreetly place a black pistol and a black collapsible cane in front of him.

“Tell Junior....I might need a doctor in the next hour.”

“.....Understood Mr. Torchwick, good luck.”

Putting the gun in his pants before unfolding the cane he got up to see Yang and them coming from the hallway leading to the bathrooms but quickly turned to head for the door. Heading out into the streets to walk for a bit while it was eerily quiet.

That’s when he started hearing footsteps behind him and he kept walking as it begun to sprinkle, but as he walked past a car he saw in the side-view mirror the green-haired girl that was with that woman.

“If you’re looking for a date all you had to do was ask,”, addressing her but she remained quiet and kept following as he moved to walk in the middle of the street as there wasn’t any cars running.

“Not the talkative type are you sweetheart?”

“.....”

“It’s not like I don’t love listening to my own voice but you must be a terrible partner since it’s starting to feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.”

“.....Just bend to Cinder and make this easy.”

“Cinder? That’s my admirer’s name?”

“Listen here you worm-”, but her words were cut short when she just barely dodged as she saw the bullet pass her head to look at Roman aiming the pistol at her, “Thanks for telling me sweetheart.”

She pulled her weapons that appeared to be revolvers with blades attached to them as Roman unloaded the pistol but she hit all the bullets away with ease, “I told you to make this easy.”

Feeling the gun was empty he put it back in his pants and made a mental note to return it later as he gripped the cane, “I’m not that easy darling, you on the other hand look too easy.”

He could see her grinding her teeth out of what he assumed was annoyance, “Cinder won’t mind...if I cut out that worthless tongue of yours.”

“Then how can I please you my dear?”, pissed off from his smirk she ran as she fired her revolvers for Roman to barely dodge the first two shots that grazed his legs before hitting the next three.

Her weapon changed form as she swung her sickle-like weapons on him when he took to his defense again. He parried her strikes but he could feel the edge of the blades getting closer to his skin every time he did.

He crouched forward to thrust the cane into her stomach before swinging up to scratch her chin with the end of the cane. As she raised her sickle to strike back he hit her arm before smacking her to stumble against a car.

Roman grabbed her then pulled the cane against her neck, “Just make this easy.”, pulling harder for her to struggle until she used the car door as a platform to run up then flip over Roman to bring down her sickles against his back which earned her a back kick to the face.

While she got up to feel the blood drip from her lip she looked towards Roman who turned around after checking his back. Feeling the blood drip from his wounds but his expression didn’t change as he just kept up his usual smile, “Should’ve told me you liked it rough, I would have come more prepared.”

Taking off his suit jacket as the sprinkle turned into rain and the cold water had somewhat lessened the pain from his wounds and washed the blood off his black shirt. He dropped the cane which surprised her but quickly noticed as he pulled from his pockets for both his fists to have silver brass knuckles with pointed tips.

“We’ll do this the old fashion way cupcake...”, cracking his neck as he raised his fists which the girl recognized were more of a threat than the backup cane but the main thing that raised an alarm in her head was Roman’s smile, “....with a brawl.”

⧫⧫⧫

[Love you too Neo.], seeing that last text made her smile and as she was about to respond she notice the twins looking over her shoulders before quickly deleting the text.

“Boooo.”

“When you gonna tell him little Neo? That way he’ll stop sleeping around.”

While they were still hanging over her shoulders she wrote it out on her scroll, [I don’t want to ruin his life....]

Looking at the sadden Neo the twins hugged her lovingly, “Little Neo is the best thing that’s happened to him and he loves you more than anyone.” they stated together.

“Oooo, how bout we set up a date for the weekend?”

[Date?]

Melanie pulled out her scroll to show the calender, “Tell Roman to take weekend off; no jobs, no work, nothing, and just spend time with little Neo. It’s perfect since the city is doing a festival on the weekend too!”

“We’ll help make it a success too, show Roman what he’s missing.”

Thinking about it for a little bit before shaking her head, [Talk about it later, let’s get started.]

The twins nodded and walked away from Neo to stand on the opposite side of the rooftop before Neo turned to face them gripping her parasol from Roman.

“Just like last time Little Neo?”

Nod.

Melanie’s bladed heels shined in the moonlight while Miltia’s claws glimmered under the moon, and Neo readied herself.

“Ready?”

“Set?”

All three smiled of them smiled, “Go!”, before rushing at each other with cold steel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how I'm doing, what's good, what needs improvement.
> 
> Which characters I should probably study up on and listen to better show their personality.
> 
> And lastly, hope you're enjoying the read.
> 
> SC out.


	6. Bad to Worse

“Ugh..”, getting tossed into the car but she didn’t get a chance to breathe as the green-haired girl moved to escape the silver knuckles that broke through the car window. Getting back up she swung for Roman who punched the blade back before punching her stomach.

Stumbling back but she used her aura in time to protect against the spikes on the knuckles when she checked her stomach. “That all you got sweetheart?”, she looked back up to Roman whose shirt was torn with marks from her attacks but his strikes never slowed down...it was more like he got faster.

“They said you were just a third-rate thief...”

“Thief yes, third-rate definitely not sunshine. Though it’s not right if you know a bit about me and I don’t know about you.”

“Tch, as if a worm like you can get any worthwhile information.”

“Please sweetie I’m a professional,” as to her surprise he showed her the wallet in his hand which she recognized was hers. “Emerald Sustrai huh? Should get a new picture Emmy, this is seriously out of date.”, tossing it to the ground as the rain showered the contents.

“Asshole...”

“I aim to please.”

Even with all the wounds Roman stood fine but Emerald was shaky after taking numerous punches since she underestimated his physical strength and the rain didn’t help her once swift movement either. “Well then, rats first.”

Gesturing her to make the first move but the second he saw her move her foot an inch he rushed for her to barely roll away as he put a dent into the side of a car. She spun to swing as he tried to punch the blades coming at him and the sparks between their weapons were the only thing lighting up the wet night.

He knocked her back but she changed her weapon to fire at his leg but he used his aura for it to bounce off. Roman threw one body blow then a right hook to make her fall back on a car, that’s when he grabbed the back of her head and slammed it against the hood before twisting her wrist to make her let go of her weapon. “Let go of me pervert!”

The rain begun to die down...

“I was having a good day, and you had to go and ruin it Emmy. Fortunately for you I’m not a rapist so I’ll just a break an arm or two to feel better, that alright with you?”

That’s when the rain died and he heard a whizzing noise before letting go of Emerald to cross his arms up when something knocked him a few feet away. “Never learn do you Emerald? Cinder said to sit tight but you can’t even do that.”

“I had it under control Mercury!”

Once he got back to his feet Roman looked up to see the silver haired kid he saw a few days ago, “Aw, how cute. You even have a silver haired knight to save you at your ready.”

“Sorry Torchy, boss lady next time.”, Mercury did a front flip and Roman caught a glimpse as something shot out of his boot before Roman blocked it but when he lowered his arms the pair was gone.

“These kids keep getting weirder.”, grabbing his jacket on the ground and taking off the already torn shirt to throwing them in a garbage can before he checked his pockets. His pack of cigarettes was completely wet except for one lucky one, and after a few tries his lighter finally lit and he smoked peacefully as he started walking back.

Headed first for the drug store and the second he entered he noticed the old man but also a young woman who he didn’t recognize who blushed at the first sight of the shirtless Roman, “Rough day Roman?”

Inhaling first, “Rough day old timer.”

“Be a dear and go get him a towel Mia,” gesturing the girl before she nodded and hurried away.

Roman walked over to the alcohol section before grabbing the biggest bottle and drinking it straight, then the girl waved to get his attention for Roman to take the towel and dried himself as best as he could.

“Want anything for those wounds Roman?”

“Doesn’t hurt as much thanks to the rain,”, after handing the towel back Mia and passing the counter as he laid a stack of lien on it, “Happy birthday old timer.” before drinking more and leaving.

“Stay safe Roman.”, the old timer and Mia waved him off.

As he made it back to his apartment he stopped to see a woman around her late twenties wearing a heavy coat and carrying a large bag waiting at the bottom of the steps, “You know some of us have husbands that aren’t happy when their wives get called in the dead of night Roman.”

“Good to see you too darling, while I don’t mind listening to your complaints you mind doing it inside while you fix me up?”, she sighed while he opened the door for her to enter first then him.

“Hold up doc, mind doing it here? Don’t want to wake up the little lady,” sitting down on the stairs while patting the space next to him. She rolled her eyes but sat down and opened her bag to reveal a vast supply of medical equipment.

After eventually patching up the last of his wounds, “You call me and you don’t even bitch and moan while I’m treating you to pay me back?”

“I may have had a couple of drinks so I don’t really feel anything.”

He got up for her to do a last minute check before closing up her kit, “Alright, a couple of them will leave scars but the rest should heal in a few days so try to not fight until then.” leaning in to kiss his lips. “I’ll see you around Roman.”

Watching her leave out the front door but he didn’t move and just pulled out his lighter to play with it while seeing the front door was still open, “You gonna hang outside all night Kitty or what?”

Waiting for a few seconds till Blake had come inside with Yang and Sun, Roman assumed the other two went back home to explain things if they needed too. “You alright....?”, Sun looked at all the bandages and could see all the healed scars on Roman’s chest.

“Don’t worry too much monkey boy, or else I’ll start falling for you.”

Expecting something but there was no remark or response so he continued, “Well I’m tired Kitty so hurry up and ask or say what it is so you can go home and I can go to sleep.”

“.....Don't deal with the White Fang.”

Staring at his lighter as he focused on the spark it made, “That a warning or an order?”

“Both if it needs to be.”, sensing the tension in her voice when she said it but he didn’t break.

He stood up and stared down at her since she was a few inches shorter, “Alright Kitty, but remember, I’m not liable for them if they **run into me**. Now unless you’re getting in bed with me, then leave.”

Seeing a piece of his anger the three understood but as Yang was the last to leave he winked for the club matter to flash back into her head making her turn away as she closed the door behind them.

Sighing, he dragged himself up the stairs before quietly opening his front door to see the TV still on.

Walking around the couch to see the Malachite twins asleep but noticed the noodle soup that was wrapped up with a note saying, “For Roman.”

He smiled before he washed up at the kitchen sink and quietly ate the food made for him that was still warm before opening the door to his bedroom to see Neo was asleep as well. He stripped off his pants before crawling in which surprised her as she opened her eyes.

 _....What happened Roman?_ , signing while half-asleep but he understood it fine.

He ruffled her hair before kissing her forehead then hugging her tightly, “I’m too tired, I’ll tell you when we’re awake. Good night Neo.”

She wanted to ask more but he quickly closed his eyes and could tell how tired he was from his breathing. Looking at the bandages and marks just saddened her but she listened as she held him to hear his beating heart, _Good night Roman_

⧫⧫⧫⧫

Walking down a flight of stairs before opening a door to a hallway, “I told you I had it under control!”

“Sure you did **Emmy** , you really had it under control when he had you bent over a car with your ass ready for it huh?”

“Fuck you Mercury!”

“When?”, said jokingly as he opened the doors to the main room.

“Silence!”, quickly standing straight to the crimson woman known as Cinder who sat on a table and looked like she was tired of waiting. “I grow tired of your ceaseless bickering.”

Slowly making her way to place her hand under Emerald’s chin as she was sweating a bit from Cinder’s expression, “Not only did you ignore my order, you also failed to even capture him when you decided to ignore my order.”

“I-i-i’m sorry Cinder....I promise it won’t happen again!”

Looking into her eyes Emerald thought she had softened....but Cinder’s eyes were filled with fire, “It won’t.”, as she let go of her and turned back to the table. Leaving Emerald with regret and Mercury snickering over his partner’s failure.

“Tell me what you learned today.”

“Um...to better my skills?”

Cinder spun as she threw a pencil that flew past Emerald but scratched the side of her left ear, “Do not underestimate those you know nothing about.”

“B-but Roman Torchwick is just a petty thief! What use is he?”

“Tell me how you got those bruises.”, eying Emerald stomach and her arms were marks left by him when she didn’t use her aura in time to defend Roman’s punches. “It was raining and I was sloppy...”

“And Roman Torchwick forced you to follow his pace every time he landed a blow on you. If you had actually read the information on him then you would have known.”

“Known what?”, looking confused at first and then turned to Mercury who gestured her to the table Cinder was at.

Walking over with him behind her Cinder moved to open the file about Roman Torchwick to her, “Currently nineteen years old, yet he didn’t start his personal career as a criminal until four years ago. Before then he was an enforcer from the ages of ten to fifteen working for a Kingpin leading one of the largest syndicates in Vale.”

Mercury stepped next to Emerald as she was speed reading the first page to move it which annoyed her but he pointed to the police report. “The Vale police caught wind that the Kingpin and his trusted inner circle were meeting at a location but when they had eventually broken through the defenses can you guess what they found?”

Looking towards Cinder as she showed an expression that suggested she wasn’t gonna be able to give the answer she wanted, “They found them?”

“They found them dead, the room was painted with their blood...and Roman himself sat at the Kingpin’s chair with the bloody knife in his hand and a smile on his face as he greeted the Vale police.”

Emerald saw his mugshot and brushed through the other files, “It doesn’t say he was arrested though.”

“Because all the evidence had disappeared, even the medical examiner was killed and their workplace was set on fire. All while Roman was in a cell awaiting trial, some said he had a close tie with someone that kept him free and the multi-colored girl with him now is likely that same person.”

Cinder closed the file and pushed it away to the other side of the table where it was stopped as a hand pressed on it, “Tch...so the man who killed my subordinates is a psychopath, that still doesn’t bring up his use Cinder.” as the red haired man pushed aside the file.

“Regardless of what occurred, Torchwick gained a certain amount of recognition from the remaining members of the gangs before they disbanded with the loss of their leader and made others from the underworld fear him.”

Sauntering over to the red haired man to touch his cheek, “And unfortunately Adam, the White Fang have no power or connections here while he does.”

Taking her hand to move it away, “That’ll be taken care of, without that bastard’s help.”

She chuckled before returning to her side of the table with Mercury and Emerald, “See that it does Adam, it would be unfortunate to know that the White Fang are failures as well.”

The tall and muscular White Fang member growled but was stopped by Adam, “We will succeed.”, before turning around to leave through a different exit.

“What now Cinder?”

She opened a laptop to open a website featuring numerous events held in the city in the next few days, “For now you two will go to Beacon and ensure investigations into the White Fang are brought to a minimum as well as...disabling the more nosy hunters and huntresses.”

“And Torchwick?”, glancing over her shoulder to Mercury, “I’m going to try a more....classic approach.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫

Slowly opening his one eye to lock eyes with Neo who still had her worried expression he remembered from last night but he smiled, “I like looking at you too cupcake, but did you at least sleep?”

Nod.

“Are you lying to me?”, vigorously shaking her head but he chuckled before ruffling her hair. “Yeah you’re lying to me, drink some coffee if you get tired for today.”

He got out slowly before he winced feeling some of the pain come back to him from last night when he heard movement, “Hey I’m alright...I’m just gonna sit in the shower for a bit okay Neo?”

She watched him leave for the bathroom and locked the door behind him while she got up to answer the door when she heard a knock. “..Who is it?”

“Too early...”, hearing the twins comments but Neo opened the door to see it was Junior waiting to the side and a young girl she didn’t recognize holding a plastic bag.

“You were here first kid so go ahead.”, Junior gestured the girl to go first and she nodded as she held up the bag to Neo. “Grandpa said this for Roman.”, giving it to Neo to see it was filled with pain medicine, new bandages and disinfectant.

“Thanks kid,” Junior answering for Neo before the girl nodded and left.

“How’s Roman doing?”, walking in to close the front door behind him while Neo put the bag on the table. Neo took out her scroll and typed it out, [He’s sitting in the shower.]

Pulling a chair out for him to sit at the dining table while he could hear the water running, “How bad?”

[There was a lot of bandages.....]

“...Yawn...what happened?”, the twins said together as they tiredly got up only in their underwear to pull seats at the dining table.

“Roman was attacked last night, I told you two to help him until I called you back. Where were you?”

The girls didn’t know what to say but Neo caught his attention, [It’s my fault....I asked them to help me with something.]

Junior’s expression didn’t change to anger but it rather changed to a tired expression as if he already knew it had to involve Neo, “Well Kristen called me and told me to get through his head that he needs to rest.”

“And Doc doesn’t know me enough if she thinks I’ll listen,” hearing his voice they turned to Roman as he only wore his black boxers but had removed the bandages that couldn’t stay on after his shower.

“Fucking christ, what the hell happened?”

Seeing the markings that were still red as he got into the last chair at the dining table, “I’ve got a name Junior, my admirer’s first name is Cinder so try and find whatever you can on them with that.”

“And what do you plan to do?”

“Work, what else?”

Junior slammed his fist on the table, “Be serious for once Roman!”

Opening his arms out wide but they all saw him visibly wince from doing so, “You think I’m not serious? You think I’ll let some bites from a street rat stop me?”

Neo and the twins remained silent and watched like children watching their older siblings or parents getting into arguments, “This goddamn street rat worked you hard enough that even the doctor called back to me, just listen to me for once in all the years we’ve worked together and take a fucking break.”

About to raise his right hand to point at Junior but Roman winced when his elbow touched the table before Neo gently grabbed his hand and looked to him with pleading eyes....“Sigh.....if you can get me the information by the end of today I’ll be a good boy and listen Mom.”

Letting out a sigh of relief Junior had nodded to Neo implying a good job while Roman reached for the bag to slowly pull out the contents, “Melanie, Miltia help rebandage this idiot then come back to the bar for something.”

Saying his piece before leaving out the front door and the twins listened as they helped Roman bandage the more serious looking wounds while Neo went to cook breakfast.

\----

After bandaging and eating breakfast the twins said bye and left while Roman laid down on the couch and Neo sat with her back to the couch while playing a zombie game on the TV. “Hey Neo, you think I need to slow down?”

Seeing she got overwhelmed as the screen showed You Are Dead, before turning back to face Roman and sign, _No...but we’re worried because you’re more reckless than before Roman..._

Thinking about it a few minutes before surprising Neo by grabbing her to have her on top of him as he hugged her, “Guess I’ve been a bad partner if I’ve kept you worried ice cream.”

She figured this was him teasing again but when she looked up from his chest Roman’s attention was on the TV, staring at the words You Are Dead. “...Sorry Neo...”, she hated seeing him like this so she lightly punched his chin for him to look down to see her happy smile.

 _I can’t wish for a better partner_ , hugging him tightly.

They were enjoying the peaceful moment until Roman’s scroll pinged and he reached for it since it was on the ground to see, from an unknown number.  
[Come to Beacon Academy.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do plan to do an actual flashback of their past in the future when the time is right.


	7. Worse to Good...Maybe?

[Even if they can’t physically connect you to any crimes Roman you really think it’s a good idea to listen to this ghost message and go to that Academy?]

[You wanted me to take a break, what better break than hanging out with a bunch of monster killers?]

[Sigh...just avoid any confrontation, you’re in no condition to be fighting even trainees from that place.]

[Got it sunshine.], putting his scroll away as the shuttle had come to a stop then side door opened for people to exit before he and Neo exited last. Neo was dressed in her new attire she got from the boutique while Roman was dressed in just a crimson button-up and dark slacks with a black bowler hat with the red band from last night.

While he had Melodic Cudgel this time to support him, Neo locked arms with his free arm to help him keep steady as they walked down the long avenue. Catching their fair share of eyes for Neo’s appearance and Roman’s bandaged arms and neck, they eventually made their way to the front of a fountain with an impressive looking statue.

“Torchwick?”, he glanced to his right to see two familiar looking girls until he registered their red and yellow colors

“Ah...Red and Blondie, didn’t expect to see you again.”, giving a weak wave with the arm that was locked with Neo. Yang wasn’t as surprised but Ruby was quite shocked seeing the state he was in, “Are you alright?”

“Oh? You worried about me Red? Didn’t realize we had that kind of relationship when you disappeared on me so fast last night.”, after he said that Ruby blushed as she ran up to cover his mouth while looking around to see if people heard him.

Putting the handle of his cane through the loop on his slacks before using his right hand to pull Ruby’s hands from his mouth, “I like you too Red but isn’t it too open here?”

Making her more redder while Yang couldn’t help but laugh at her baby sister’s reaction but recomposed herself to pull Ruby from him and the amused Neo, “What are you doing here anyway Roman?”

“Obviously I came here looking for you sweetheart, I never leave things unfinished and unfortunately we got interrupted last night.”, Yang was about to retort as she felt some redness rising in her as well but..

“Mr. Torchwick, I suggest you refrain from fraternizing with the students before you bite off more than you can chew.”, looking behind the sisters to see the mature blonde haired woman he remembered meeting a few days ago.

“Professor Goodwitch!”

“So you’re suggesting I fraternize with you instead dear?”, giving her a wink but she rolled her eyes. “You got the message yes? Then follow me.”, turning around to head for the main building as both Roman and Neo shrugged and started following her after Ruby and Yang waved them off.

It was a rather quiet and uneventful walk as they made their way to an elevator then waited till they hit the top for the doors to open. Goodwitch exited first and stood next to the desk as Roman and Neo walked forward to come face to face with the man behind the desk.

“Hello Roman, you seem to be doing well.”

Tilting his head as he stared at him, “I don’t believe we’ve met Dr. Strange.”

“Watc-”

“Glynda please...Why don’t you have a seat first Roman? You too Neopolitan.”, gesturing them and Neo helped Roman to his seat before she sat herself in the right seat.

“I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy and the students here know me as Professor Ozpin, but Ozpin is just fine if you wish.”

“Well then Ozzy, why exactly am I here and who died for this little meet up to happen?”

Glynda seemed annoyed at the nickname but held her tongue as Ozpin only smiled, “How do you feel about chess Roman?”, as his desk projected a chessboard with him having the white pieces and Roman having the black pieces.

Roman eyed him but he couldn’t read his expression as well as he could others..., “I’ve dabbled, though I never had the chance to go pro. You know, gangs and all that jazz.”

Ozpin moved one piece and gestured to Roman, “Your move Roman.”

He thought about just leaving but figured he might as well humor him and moved one piece.

“How are your injuries?”

“I haven’t even noticed.”

“Is that so? It looked like you could barely walk without your partner though.”

“She was conveniently next to me and I needed the stability.”

“Quite like you to always take the initiative isn’t it Roman?”

“You’re starting to sound like an ex I never had Ozzy.”, the game continued to be played as they talked..

“Can we just cut to the chase?”

“I felt it would be better to let you focus your mind on something else first.”

“You’ve succeeded so there a reason we’re still playing this game?”

“I imagine neither of us are planning to lose but rather playing just so the other doesn’t win.”, they continued their game until it was Ozpin’s turn yet he wasn’t in check but he couldn’t make any legal move to continue forward.

“It appears we’re at a draw.”, and Roman faced Ozpin’s smile as the chessboard disappeared. 

Roman crossed his arms as he gestured to Ozpin to go ahead, “Roman....how do you feel about working together?”

“Ozpin!  What are you thinking?! This man is responsible for putting a student in the hospital”, 

Ozpin raised his hand to stop her, “And if it wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart to take Miss Nikos to the hospital she would have likely suffered a much more dire fate Glynda. Thank you again for saving Miss Nikos Roman.”

“It would be too cruel to leave a beautiful role model to the hands of scum, wouldn’t you agree Ozzy?”

Ozpin nodded, “But enough about that. Tell me this Roman...how many people died for you to be where you are now?”

Roman stared daggers at him but Ozpin didn’t flinch, “I’ll ask you the same Ozzy, how many people had to die for you to be sitting in that chair now?”

“...Far too many....”

Looking at him he still couldn’t read his face so Roman pulled out a pack and stared at Ozpin who nodded a yes while holding off Glynda, after smoking his piece for a bit...”What would be the objective of this team-up?”

“You were...approached rather aggressively a couple of days ago and you were viciously attacked last night correct?”, looking at the marks that peaked out from the bandages around his neck and his arms.

“And why would that matter to you?”

“Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, you are a born and raised citizen of Vale...approached and attacked by an outsider who is likely related to a group bent on seeing the world in darkness.”

“Sounds like the perfect world for monsters and scum of Remnant like me, don’t you think?”

Ozpin chuckled after that, “Even though you believe your heart is a black-hole Roman, I still see a shred of light inside you.”

“Then you need a new pair of glasses my friend, hopefully one without looney-vision.”

“Think about it Roman.”

“What is there to think about? Working with hunters and huntresses isn’t exactly appealing to my occupation, I’d be seen as a sellout and lose any credibility in the world  **I live in** .”

Ozpin tapped his desk for two screens to show up, showing Roman and Neo’s information labeled as hunters and their affiliation was said to be to Beacon, “Then I’ll see it that you’ll live in the world you’ve avoided, you can be a hunter and your partner a huntress instead of being criminals.”

Inhaling for a few seconds before looking to Neo who only held a smile that helped him stay focus before turning back to Ozpin, “I’ll take my chances.”

Roman got up suddenly with Neo doing so as well, “Now, as much as I enjoyed this moment of peace, being around such wannabe heroes and justice driven fools makes my skin crawl so I’ll take my leave Ozzy, sweetheart.”

“If you’re leaving Roman, I recommend visiting the infirmary. The nurse there might have something to better help with those wounds, and feel free to visit the cafeteria as well since it’s almost lunchtime and lastly....do consider my proposal once you’ve seen the ways both paths can end.”

As the elevator door open and they got in before turning around so they could lock eyes once Neo pressed the button, “...Don’t waste your time...” was his parting words before the elevator closed and they could feel it was going down.

Neo caught his attention,  _ Are you okay? _

Even though his hand were still sore he signed because Neo always knew he was serious if he did,  _ Do you want to be a huntress Neo? _

_ Considering the deal? _

_ It’d make me less worried if something happened to me and you could already have friends to count on here,  _ she immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly which hurt him for a few seconds before looking down to her.

Looking back up he could see her face and she mouthed the words slowly enough for him to read her lips,  _ I won’t let that happen....and I want to be by your side. _

What else could he do other than smile at his partner’s dedication? “Thanks ice cream, I can always count on you.”, surprising her with a light kiss on her soft lips causing her to blush and filling her head with confusion as she pulled away.

He picked up her parasol she dropped when the doors opened for her to fall back but he caught her in time, “Neooo? Let’s take up Ozzy’s offer and get some lunch.”, quickly coming back to reality she grabbed her parasol and stood straight even though Roman could see she was still a bit red.

They were quite startled when they suddenly heard a bark and turned to look down at the source of the bark, a tiny corgi, which Neo immediately ran up to play with. Roman laughed at how quickly she recovered and walked to them to carefully kneel down, “Surprised to see a dog here of all places.”

The corgi rolled around and flipped over showing its active personality before Roman motioned him to sit still to check his collar, “Zwei huh?....Know where the cafeteria is boy?”

He ran away a few feet before turning around to bark which Roman took it as he wanted them to follow. Reaching his hand for Neo, “Let’s go?”, the redness came back as the brief kiss filled her mind again but she eventually locked arms with Roman as they followed Zwei.

\----

They ate peacefully at the end of the table close to doors while also garnering the usual stares but with Zwei quickly eating an enormous amount of food off his own plate the stares increased while the little corgi was rolling around as if he was sick of the food, “That’s what happens when you stuff your face dog.”

Neo giggled seeing Roman play with Zwei with a pair of chopsticks as she thought it was cute to see him this way the few times it happens. Though Roman stopped playing when his phone rung to see it was Melanie, [Missed us already Skimpy?]

They didn’t answer but he could hear whispers and assumed she was talking with Miltia first, [Um...we’re sorry for last night....]

[You guys stole my smokes again?]

[No!....if we were with you last night, then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt so bad.]

He looked towards Neo who was messing with Zwei, [You were with Neo right? Then don’t worry about it.]

[But....]

[Neo likes being with you guys and I prefer her to be safe and happy. I’ll see you guys at Junior’s bar or when we get home alright?], not waiting for a response as he hung up.

_ Melanie and Miltia? _

“Yeah, we should probably leave now Neo before people start getting too curious.”, quickly getting up to head for the exit with Neo following him. Though when he glanced back he saw out of the corner of his eye a familiar a pair of students sporting familiar green and silver hair. “Work together huh? Can’t even keep out spies from your school Ozzy.”

They made their way out of the building and walked until they stopped at the fountain for them to sit at the edge and Roman to smoke a bit, though he noticed Neo taking in the sights. “You sure you don’t want to be a huntress cupcake? Killing grimm is probably easier and safer than dodging bullets or the police when they try”

_ Are you gonna be one with me? _

“Obviously not, I’d shoot myself before classes started.”, she got huffy as she stared at him,  _ Then why ask?! _

Reaching out to pat her head, “Just making sure kiddo.”

She punched his side but he flinched which made her recoil though his expression quickly changed back to his confident smile when she looked to see if he was in pain, “Mr. Torchwick!”

Turning away from Neo’s cute face to look at Jaune who came running to a stop and started trying to catch his breath, “Skipped track when you were younger didn’t you Jauney?”

“I..hah...actually...hah...never missed p.e..hah...but I..was always..hah....last...”, talking as he took breaths in between every other two words.

“Make a reminder not to run a marathon Jauney boy, you may just die of exhaustion.”, Jaune simply nodding unable to hear the sarcasm in his voice before finally pulling himself together.

“Mr. Torchwick, did you happen to go to that president’s mansion...by chance?”

Recognizing where the topic was going, “I can’t confirm or deny, but does this have to do with Starlet?”

“Y-yeah, even though she got hurt pretty bad someone brought her to the hospital and I was wondering if you knew who attacked since you’re kind of like a bad guy I think?”

Feigning a shocked expression and Neo following his actions, “My goodness! Jauney boy that really hurts my pride as a contributor to cleaning up the city of Vale!"

“W-w-wait I didn’t mean like you’re bad!”, seeing his panic got them laughing and causing some confusion for him until their laughter died down.

“Whew...Jauney boy you’re just a delight, but obviously I can’t tell you anything or else my life and those I care about would be in danger.”, telling him in the most sincere voice he could fake.

Hearing that caused his spirit to go down and dejected, “Y-yeah...I figured as much..”

“Sorry kid, if it isn’t important than I’m sure you can pressure Starlet to tell you or you can be a gentleman and just wait for her to tell when she’s ready.”

“Just like ice queen...”, whispering to himself before psyching himself back up, “You’re right, thanks Mr. Torchwick.”, before waving them bye and headed for the main building

Pulling the side of his shirt to grab his attention,  _ Old mark? _

_ More like pure entertainment. _

“What are you doing here....”, turning to see Blake standing before them but she was clearly gripping her weapon while Roman gripped Melodic Cudgel and Neo her parasol. “Didn’t read the memo Kitty? We were invited, and if I had to say, you’re being quite the terrible host for leaving us to do something else.”

Staring each other down until Blake finally let go of her weapon and relaxed to surprisingly sit next to Roman, “Did...you see a red-haired man in black with a katana there?”, and he noticed the drastic change in her voice when she asked.

“Good lord, a malicious cat to a vulnerable kitten in a matter of seconds, tell me dear whose the father?”, immediately receiving a punch from his poke at her mood swing while Blake got an angered glare from Neo.

“Did you see him or not?”

“Who is he? Brother? Lover? ”, while he was having fun poking for information Blake looked more depressed as if thinking about the man continued to hurt her.

“....Just...tell me if you saw him...”

“You’re really no fun Kitten, but no I didn’t meet your one night drunken mistake.”, insinuating a certain relationship caused Blake to raise her weapon to touch his neck but he didn’t faze when he noticed her red cheeks.

“Ooo, I hit the mark on that one didn’t I?”, with a rather satisfied looking grin. Putting his hand on the blade to slowly push it away from him, “Much as I love spending time with you, I’m committed to someone else but I’m sure we’ll run into each other again Kitty. ”

Getting up with Neo and they headed for the avenue and when he glanced back he could see Blake had just sat there with her depressed expression, but he snapped forward to answer his phone when he saw it was Junior. [I seriously doubt you found something this quickly.]

[No this is about a job for tonight.]

[Thought you wanted me to take a break, you know you can be a real hypocrite sometimes.]

[Shut up, only reason I’m telling you is because it’s a very  **very** simple pickpocket job, no bullets, no blades, no bodies, just theft with a very big pay.]

[And you didn’t think it was rather suspicious that something so  **very** simple might be just a trick?]

[I thought so too until I opened the two briefcases loaded with lien that came with a note saying it was paid half now and half once it’s done.]

[...I’ll bite...what’s the job?]

[Meet me at your new workplace and I’ll fill you in there.]


	8. Stay Classy

Walking down a spiral staircase until they made it to the bottom to reveal a large and long room with numerous movement from Junior’s men as they were filling the space with desks, work benches, weapons, equipment and more.

“The hell you been Roman?”, Junior turned from the large desk that projected a 3d holo map of Vale with the Malachite twins standing by him.

“Little lady wanted something sweet so we made a stop,” carrying a couple if plastic bag while Neo was eating a strawberry shortcake bar.

As they walked over Roman tossed the bags for the girls to catch and they waved over some of Junior’s men who were on break to hand out various ice cream bars. Seeing the sight of his men just made him shake his head, “Whatever...for this job we’re trying to avoid attention so you can’t use Melodic.”

“And what if this **simple** job isn’t actually so simple, I’m pretty sure my fists doesn’t stop bullets or swords even with aura applied.”

Junior turned to the table then back to him to toss a white decorative sheath with an elegant handle for Roman to catch. After tossing Melodic to Junior he pulled the handle to unsheath a blackened katana with numerous white symbols engraved on the blade, “Now this is a real sight for sore eyes.”

“I’ve kept Yami in the vault ever since you finished the syndicate, still remember how to use it?”, he responded when a henchman walked near them carrying a rifle for Roman to move before they could blink to slash and the henchman blinked his eyes as he stopped in his tracks.

Looking down to see the front of the rifle was sliced off while Roman put the katana back into the sheath, “You never forget how to use your tools, you know that better than anyone Junior. Though I doubt I’ll be invisible carrying a sword.”

“Don’t worry, heres the job.”, putting Melodic aside then pointing his men to get back to work as they finished their ice cream and bringing Roman’s attention to the map that changed to project a large mansion.

“It’s some rich kid’s 16th birthday and his parents are throwing him a big party in their mansion, and generally rich people invite other rich people and their spoiled family. More than a few of these rich dicks are hunters that have weapons to show off so no one will care about yours.”

A screen was projected above the mansion showing a long list of names that were checked as invited and Roman noticed one of them said Schnee but he stopped at where his name was on the guest list, “I’m pretty sure I’m every rich guy’s nightmare, who’d they kill to put me on the list?”

“You remember Gale?”

“Which one? There was four of them back then.”

“The wolf faunus that liked getting hit,” Roman thought back and remembered a certain incident that made him shudder, “Ugh....what does that thing have to do with this?”

“She’s dating birthday boy and invited you and the friends she made in the gang before it disbanded. She probably didn’t remember your address and that’s why she sent it to my bar”, handing Roman a rather gaudy letter that was addressed to him from Gale.

“Well I got my way in then, who’s the mark?”, typing out on the keyboard that was attached to the table on the end for another screen to pop up.

It was an elderly gentleman with a rather strict demeanor and had the presence of some military official, “This grandpa is the mark and the pure gold pocket watch he’s carrying is the flag you need to steal.”

“Then what’s the hard part?”

“Grandpa has four guards that we assume are disguised as guests that are always with him because he’s paranoid, so the usual bump and grab won’t work nor will you be able to get him alone in the bathroom or any room without them following.

Roman looked at the list of guests and the holo mansion as he manipulated it to show the main room where the party would be held. “So a distraction something to deal with vision is in order...”

“We don’t know what exactly you’ll have to work with in there so I’ll leave the methods to you, but I’ll have a few of my men infiltrate to impersonate some waiters or chefs or something to give some support in case things go loud.”

But as Roman was about to turn, a creeping chill filled Junior’s thoughts as he quickly looked over all the information given and the two cases of lien...”...On second thought, take Melodic with you too.”

Grabbing Melodic from the table and tossing it back to Roman for him to catch, “You really need to make up your mind Junior.”

Glancing over to Neo who was in a expression heavy conversation with the twins.“Then we just need to be dressed for the occasion.”

\-----

Pulling into a parking lot three blocks away from the mansion space with several other black vehicles with tinted windows following and parking alongside them. As Junior’s men got from their vehicles, Neo and Roman got out last.

Neo stuck to her outfit while adding on numerous necklaces around her neck while Roman had Yami strapped to the left side of his hip. He changed to a white coat embroidered with black petals at the ends and sleeves of the coat as well as what appeared to be a dark tree like figure connecting them on the back and a black bowler hat with a red band and white feather to finish.

“Looks like the party’s already started,” pointing everyone’s attention towards the mansion’s gates to see a flood of people and vehicles going in.

Pulling out a cigar from his coat and a black zippo lighter with the orange jack-o’-lantern on it to light the cigar before inhaling while looking over the henchmen, “You all know what to do, get to work.”

“Yes, sir!,” all of them giving a quick salute before running off with large duffel bags likely filled with their equipment and tools to dispose of evidence or bodies should it come to that.

Looking up to see the full moon in all its glory, “It’s a beautiful night Neo.”, she tugged at his coat. _Roman?_

He wondered why but for some reason he’d been remembering the past a lot lately....“Come on Neo.” walking for the gates as Neo quickly followed behind for him to listen to the clacks of her heels.

It was a short walk and Roman held Neo’s hand in order to keep together once they blended with the crowd of people going through the gate, showing his invitation from the letter to the host before being allowed through the main doors and pointed down the middle hallway.

Roman saw the ballroom as just a cluster of people moving around while noticing near the center there was a more noticable difference in energy.

They moved through and around the people until they found a pillar that was relatively clear enough to be by themselves. Roman looked at the decorations, the paintings and the people, “Being rich and inviting this many people is crying to be a mark.”

 _People like to show off whatever they have don’t they?,_ she signed while Roman swiped a drink from a passing waiter’s plate.

“That they do, but sometimes it’s fun for some mystery to be part of it. Knowing everything is good in most cases but it makes things very boring after a short while.”

_Shouldn’t we start looking for the grandpa?_

Downing the drink rather quickly before tossing it behind him for it to surprisingly land perfectly on a different waiter’s plate which shocked them as they looked around to see who did it, “Looking for one old man in this kind of crowd is tedious, Junior’s boys should have our eyes soon enough to make things easy so we might as well enjoy ourselves until then.”

“Roman!!”, hearing a loud feminine voice yell his name before what felt like a soft brick hit his back but he held his ground by stomping his right foot forward to stop him from falling forward. He sighed before turning around for the culprit to tackle hug him the second he turned which annoyed him but made Neo giggle at the sight.

“Roman, Roman, I didn’t think you’d come!”, seeing first the silver fur tail that was wagging happily like a dog before seeing the back-bottom of the glittery silver mini dress and a glimpse of red laced underwear. Then when she pulled her head up from his chest to look up at his face he could see the wolf ears matching her long silver hair while she looked at him with azure eyes. “Gale...maybe if you actually looked up my place you wouldn’t think so.”

Roman’s thoughts, _How the hell did this hyper idiot attract any.._ ..now noticing the soft sensation as he could see down her mini dress to spot her large endowment while also paying attention to her face to figure out that the years has been more than generous to her..... _now it makes sense._

“B-b-but I tried looking through the phone books and I couldn’t find you, and then when I asked the police they just sent me away saying I was dumb for looking for you!”, he facepalmed hard enough that he thought for a second he broke his nose at that last action she supposedly took. While she couldn’t read his expression she kept her dumb happy smile which somewhat calmed him knowing she’s still the same.

“Well...I’m here now so that’s all that matters isn’t it dear? You remember Neo right?”, pointing her attention behind him to Neo who was waving hi while she was next to the pillar.

“Hi Neo!”, letting go of Roman to dash past him and lovingly hug Neo, while Roman took the time Gale was squeezing Neo to light another cigar. “I guess I should congratulate you on getting a boyfriend huh Gale?”

“Thanks! Wait here I’ll bring him!”, but before she could run off he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to wrap his arm around her shoulders and lowered his voice enough for the few curious ones near them to not hear, “I’ll meet the poor sap another time, and I told you not to draw attention to me if we’re together at any point in time while you’re alive.”

“Oh...sorry Boss...”

“While the title rings a nice bell I ain’t your boss Gale, I haven’t been it for nearly six years.”

“Y-yeah sorry...it’s a habit...um...since we haven’t seen each other in a long time can I ask...a favor Roman?”

He thought up a hundred things that she could ask but they all ended with money which in her case she didn’t need so he killed all those thoughts and slowly remembered Junior’s reminder of her.....“No.”

“Please? Just once?”

“No, I’m not going there.”

“But I...miss it...and Zack won’t do it when I ask him...”

“Cause then he’d be called a wifebeater minus the wife, and it’ll be seen as an abusive relationship regardless of how you feel.”

“...Pretty please.”, looking to him with puppy dog eyes as he took his arm off her to cover his face and sighed as he cursed under his breath, “What the fuck is wrong with this kid...”

Hearing the murmurs of the peanut gallery got him back to focus, “Well...we’ll discuss it later.”

“Really?!”, seemingly overjoyed at that there was a chance but he brushed off the enthusiasm. “In any case, you should get back to your boyfriend before people think I’m trying to steal you from him.”

She turned her face from him to stare at the ground and started pressing her index fingers together as he noticed a hint of red in her ears while barely hearing her gentle voice but heard nonetheless, “...I wouldn’t mind if it’s you...”

“I would, now please go before you give me another headache.”, lightly pushing her away before she scampered off and he went back to Neo. _Gale is still as cute as she was before._

Hearing his scroll vibrate, “You’re still cuter.”, and turning away from her punch to his shoulder as he read the text. [We got video Mr. Torchwick.]

Then the screen on his scroll changed to four security feed that he could tell was placed at the corners of the ceiling from the angle they were. He looked at the top two and quickly scanned the people as he already memorized how the old looked but he wasn’t there, though when he looked at the third screen he saw someone of value.

Zooming into the feed while he leaned against the square pillar with Neo and bent his knees a little so they could look together. In a pristine white dress and clear white hair he recognized the huntress for her photo on an article regarding her singing performance, “Weiss Schnee, huh? She could be carrying something of value too...”

Though the thought of pickpocketing the white princess dropped once he saw she was conversing with a familiar nervous Red, a dynamic Blondie, and a reserved black Kitten sporting similar dresses matching their profound color. Yet the only thing that could make that little band any more annoying was the fact they were only a few meters from his mark as he recognized the grandpa’s face.

Then a quick message popping up saying, [White Fang spotted.], letting him know that there were some white fang members here but he couldn’t guess there goal or their target. _An entire mansion filled with rich and likely greedy humans.....if anything everyone here is their target._

“Tch...simple job my ass Junior.”, annoyed as he put the phone away and since he was tall enough could spot the Schnee and her little band of emotional roller-coasters and the grandpa out himself by looking through the crowd.

_What’s the plan?_

“Preferably we want to make a bigger distance between the meddlesome kids and grandpa. Add to the fact that we still don’t know the four guards but they must be at least within five to ten feet to keep their response time tight means we can’t move him so...”

It looked like the center was becoming a dance spot as he could see some movement even though it seemed more like ballroom dancing with the older folk watching it....“...Still remember how to waltz Neo?”

\----

“It’s a shame you’re father couldn’t come.”

“Oh my, that dress is beautiful!”

“Will you ever do another performance Miss Schnee?”, Weiss being a bit overwhelmed by the barrage of people talking to but she remained calm and gracefully responded to all of them while the rest of RWBY were snickering at the predicament their princess was in.

“Weiss is so popular...must be tough”, Ruby looked a bit sorry for Weiss.

“Times like this makes you remember she really is an heiress.”, Yang said while drinking a glass after taking it from a waiter’s plate.

“Long as she doesn’t bring it here,”, Blake commented while she kept her eyes on a novel she was reading.

Though she interrupted as Yang put her arms around Blake and Ruby’s shoulders to bring them together, “Well since Weiss is busy, why don’t we have some fun? It’s a party after all!”

“Roman!!”, they all heard a girl’s voice yell out a name they thought they recognized but they couldn’t be sure they heard right with the noise except for Blake who heard it clearly as she closed her book and started scanning the crowds for him. “Sounds like someone’s girlfriend isn’t too happy.”

“Which brings the question, see any hot guys or cute girls? Blake, Ruby?”, propping the question yet Ruby was looking more towards Weiss and Yang followed her gaze while not noticing Blake’s attention to her.

“Well I’m not really interested in the people here...”

“Same...”

“Booo, you guys are no fun today.”, annoyed by their answers but noticed Weiss had come back from the people. “Having fun princess?”

Looking as if she’d walk a mile as she sighed, “I thought this would be good to relax from everything but I’m more tired than before...”, looking oh so miserable for her team who laughed and then consoled the tired heiress.

“So, I heard there was a strange couple at Beacon today, you guys know about it?”, Weiss asked while elegantly finishing her drink. Though the question stumped the three since they already recognized Beacon as a place that is already rather very strange with its student body and faculty.

Touching the tip of her chin as she tried to recall what she heard to help jog their memory, “Hmm...ah! Professor Goodwitch came to get them.”

Blake was in the dark in this one but Ruby remembered, “Oh! That was Roman, but I don’t think the girl with him ever said her name.”

“Roman?”

“A guy we met while we were trying to find shadows here,” poking at Blake’s sides which made her a bit embarrassed remembering that they actually made an effort to find her.

“Oh! Looks like some people are dancing.”, the team leader pointing out as people were moving a bit aways from the center to make space.

Yang stood on her tiptoes to look over the taller folk to see them, “Looks like classical dancing, boring.”

“Don’t knock it till you tried it Blondie,” she looked but her and Ruby’s arm were grabbed and pulled towards the center. “Hey!”, Weiss and Blake pushing through the people after them, yet Ruby and Yang were surprised as they were pulled through the crowd and into the dance spot.

It took Ruby a second to recognize the small girl that was now her dance partner while Yang knew immediately as soon as she looked at his green eyes, “Roman?!”

“Hope you don’t mind, the little lady and me had a little squabble so we needed separate partners.”, giving her a wink before she looked towards Ruby who was partnered with a smiling Neo.

Doing a simple waltz with the sisters yet the others dancing caught on and followed along as well, “W-what are you doing here?”, Yang felt nervous due to the close proximity and the feel of where his hand was on her back while Ruby was trying to keep up a good mood to Neo who she could tell was putting up the smile.

“We were invited, what else would we be doing here?”, Roman glanced to the sides to make out two of Junior’s men due to their shades who were able to disguise themselves as guests had able to roped in Weiss and Blake into the dance center as well.

He spun Yang towards Neo as she spun Ruby towards him and they kept up their pace after successfully trading partners, though now Yang and Ruby’s steps were off more than before due to the quick change in heights of their dance partners.

“Oh Red, you look absolutely stunning.”

“R-really? T-thanks..”, displaying his devilish smile continued to fluster the Red whose steps were already all over the place and he assumed she didn’t know the current dance. While he kept his footing he made sure to pay attention how much distance they’ve made from the old man and once they were far enough he looked towards Junior’s men and Neo to nod at them.

“It’s been fun Red, do try and work on your footing though dear.”, spinning her away for her to clash with Weiss and Yang with Blake as Neo and the henchmen followed his actions.

“H-hey stop!”, ignoring the order from a confused Blake, Roman and Neo walked straight for the mark as he pulled out a pair of shades and handed another pair to Neo to put on. He speed dialed a number for it to connect immediately, [Kill the lights.]

Then the ballroom was suddenly plunged into darkness and the people began to panic except for Roman and Neo who’s shades made their vision bright green with the night vision. They focused on the old man who appeared to be defended by his four guards now as Roman could see their pistols now.

“Take left Neo, I’ll take right.”, Neo nodded and held her parasol ready while Roman made sure Yami was hooked tight before reading Melodic

‘What’s happening?!”

“Stay close sir!”

Taking their respective sides, Roman tossed up Melodic to grab the bottom before lunging to pull the first by the neck to the ground and knocking him out with a golf swing when they tried to get up. Before the second guard could react he hit their hand with his cane before swinging to hit their leg and make an audible crack but before they could scream in pain he stomped their face to the ground.

Neo rushed to the first one on her side to use the handle to pull the guard down by their collar before flipping over them to hit the back of the head of the second with a dropkick which with heels pierced the back of their skull. Though Neo didn’t stop as she was still in air and pulled on her parasol to pull back the neck of the fallen guard before landing on their back and hearing a loud snap.

Before the old man could react to the sounds of his bodyguards’ incapacitation Roman clenched his fist and knocked him out with a strong left straight. Once he was done he picked the pocket watch from his pocket and headed for the exit with Neo while the room was still in darkness.

Though they stopped once they took off the shades as they could her fiery eyes, “Hello Roman.”, then the lights turned back on for them to see it was Cinder. “Figures, this job was too simple.”

“Yet, you walked right into it? Not as bright as I thought you were.”, and before he could retort there was sounds of gunfire which shocked the room and he glanced back to see White Fang members handling the people but team RWBY was fighting them back.

“No one likes a clingy girlfriend honey, but I’m sure you must be quite angry that I sent your little green messenger dog packing. And while I love the fire in your eyes...”, he pulled Yami from its sheath and flipped it in his left hand to hold it normally before aiming Melodic at Cinder while Neo stood by his side ready to engage.

Flames erupted from her hands until it disappeared to Cinder wielding exotic looking blades and Roman only smiled. “We're just not meant for each other.”


	9. In Sync

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teamwork makes the dream work.

Roman fired the first shot as Cinder combined her blades to form her bow and fired a metal arrow that pierced through his shot. It flew straight at him but shattered when Neo opened her parasol to block the attack.

He fired again over Neo’s shoulder for Cinder to duck the shot and rush them. She struck at Neo but she blocked and Cinder took the opening to kick Neo aside before blocking Roman’s downward strike with his sword.

“Why don’t you learn that you don’t always get what you want Cinder.”, keeping his grip as the blades created sparks grinding against each other. “With power you can get everything you want, and I want you.”

Her arms started to glow with fire markings before shoving him back and the sparks in air from the exchange had crystallized to ice as she went them flying at him. He fired a shot at the ice shards to create a mist while the explosion somewhat deafened the sounds of the screaming guests.

He glanced over to Neo who was helping some of Junior’s men fight against the White Fang while also hearing the sounds of sniper rifle shots back where Team RWBY was as the guests were slowly getting out of dodge. Another arrow came flying from the mist and he used the sword to cut it but it shatter to glass and scratched his left arm before Cinder came to exchange blows that continued to spark until she knocked away his cane and roundhouse kicked his face.

Getting back up to see Cinder step on his cane with a smirk on her pretty face as he felt his right jaw for the pain to kick in a bit then spitting out the blood in his mouth, “Heh, full of love taps aren’t you?”

Switching hands to wield the katana in his right hand before pulling out an ice dust crystal to toss it at her then charging to attack. As he swung down at Cinder’s blades the ice dust he threw at her had collided with his edge and Yami turned crystal blue which froze one of Cinder’s swords on contact.

She spun and swung her free sword for Roman to block it but her second sword had frozen to the touch and she jumped away as her eyes burn with fire for her hands to melt the blades free, “Too cold for you? Let’s try something else love.”

He tossed up a silver crystal before spinning to shatter it with Yami to change the color to clear grey as the blade shot out a wind blade at Cinder who dodged the first, second and third wind blade he dished out before slicing to cut the last one. Though it cut the top left side of her dress for it to hang and reveal her left breast covered by a reddish black lace bra, “Ooo pretty intense Cinders, who you saving it for?”

While she had an amused smile he eyed where his cane Melodic was to see it was almost within equal distance from him and her. He ran slashing out another wind blade for her to cut and dash at him when he tossed up a fire dust crystal before slashing upwards to cause a fiery explosion forward to blast her away.

“Neo!”, kicking up his cane for him to catch then pulled the trigger as he fired three successive shots for Neo to jump in and caught all three shots with the handle of her parasol before swinging it to fire a red wave blade at Cinder for an explosion and a loud bang to ring through the ballroom.

They stared at the giant fog of smoke until Roman noticed the space under their feet light up and grabbed Neo to jump back before a pillar of fire erupted where they once stood. Seeing Cinder wipe away the smoke with flaming eyes and her blades covered with flames.

Looking towards Neo after setting her down, “You with me?”, and she nodded.

Acknowledging that he turned and dashed for Cinder as he tossed Yami at her while it was still on fire due to the fire dust then fired at the blade as it was only a few inches from her to cause an explosion. Cinder was without a scratch and Yami was flying upwards, but Roman switch hands with Melodic and swung as he clashed with her flaming blades.

They clashed until he hooked one of her blades away and stepped back for Neo to jump over his shoulder to kick Cinder’s second blade out of her hand but had to block when she retaliated with a fireball. Before she was sent flying back Roman back-kicked Cinder while extending his cane for Neo to grab the handle and he spun to pull Neo back into the fight letting her kick the temptress’ left side.

Dodging and barely brushing aside their strikes with her hands until she spun back to kick up her blades when Yami came down for Roman to catch and he swung down for her to block. Instead of keeping up the clash he pressed Melodic’s barrel against the back of his blade and fired for a focused explosion forward to blast Cinder away.

Flying back but flipping in air to land gracefully on her feet, “I’ll tell you this sweetheart, you definitely got spunk but that’s not enough for my world.”

Dusting herself off and pulling up the cut piece of the dress back to her shoulder for her hand to glow and it was fixed, “Your world will crumble, isn’t it time to jump ship?”

“Even if my ship is sinking, as Captain I’d rather strip it bare and build a boat before stowing away on yours honey.”, hearing a roar while hearing their running footsteps Roman aimed Melodic over his shoulder to fire and disintegrate the two White Fang members about to attack him.

“You really need better sailors dear, these ones just aren’t that smart.”

She chuckled but her expression didn’t change much from her smirk, “That’ll be fixed in the future, I’ll see you again Roman but next time I’ll have a hand you can’t refuse.”, as she swiped her hand to send a fire wave for Neo to block with her parasol but the ends of the wave broke past and set the decorations in the ballroom on fire.

As she walked away from the burning castle he felt something before turning to block Blake’s strike at him, “I told you not to kill them!”

Using his strength he pushed her back and fired but she used her semblance to dodge further back as her shadow took the blast, “And I told you what happens when they cross paths with **me** , Kitty.”

Blake stood with her weapons ready as her teammates lined up with her and looked prepared to fight while Roman glanced to his sides to see a few of Junior’s men support each other as the White Fang were pulling out their unconscious as well.

“All of you head back first, I’d rather not owe Junior anymore bodies than I already do,” waving off the henchmen as they looked at him for a second and nodded before heading out to leave through the entrance. “Good luck Mr. Torchwick,” they all said in unison as their was no hint of worry in their voice.

Holding Melodic with his arm so he could pull out a cigar to light it with Yami as it was still burning with the effects of the fire crystal. He pulled the trigger on the handle and the flames dissipated as the blade reverted from crimson red back to midnight black before putting it back in its sheath. Inhaling as team RWBY was patiently waiting if not a bit nervous as they already witnessed how dangerously in sync their teamwork was, “Round two.”

Gripping his cane he swung wide as he fired four consecutive shots aimed at all of them which Weiss blocked with a blue barrier and Blake with her shadow but Ruby and Yang dodged before firing their weapons to blast them forward.

But Neo intercepted as she dodged their strikes to get in between the sisters and while they tried to hit her they always hesitated in fear as when Neo dodged then their attacks would hit each other. As Yang threw a left body blow she hesitated when Neo moved slightly away and her fist was about to hit Ruby. Neo took that opening to raise her left leg for a body kick to Yang’s right abdomen to make her flinch long enough for her to pull back her leg and spin to roundhouse kick Ruby away before completing her spin to back flip kick Yang’s chin.

Weiss used her glyphs and Blake dashed to charge at Neo while Yang was dazed, but Roman got in between and they exchanged blows but couldn’t break his defense. Keeping up with Blake and Weiss’ strikes but he could feel himself losing ground and waited for a downward strike from Blake to parry the attack with an upward strike causing an opening. Weiss trying to protect her had attempted to block when she thought Roman was going to continue the attack but instead he gripped the bottom of his cane to swung wide and batted Weiss away.

Blade went on the offensive as she used dashed strikes which constantly left a shadow and spun Roman around for him to block every attack when he saw Neo and Yang still fighting. When she finally tried to strike from the ground Roman fired Melodic at the shadow she created then dashed through the smoke to hit her right cheek with an open palm and hitting her chest with the barrel of Melodic before firing his handle towards Neo for her to grab and hooked it around Yang’s neck.

Pulling the button for the handle to reel back as it dragged Yang, before kicking Blake in the stomach making her stumble back. Once the handle came back to have Yang flying above him he jumped to kick her back and sent her flying to crash into Blake.

Hearing a sniper shot first then a whooshing sound he raised his cane and blocked as Weiss had thrusted and clashed with the center of the cane, “This all you got? Stick to singing princess.”

“Shut up!”, annoyed she used a glyph that spun like a clock under her feet and numerous white glyphs floated around them as she jumped back to thrust for him to parry it slightly to the side but no chance to breathe as she came from every direction at extreme speed with the help of her semblance. He kept blocking but he felt the rapier’s point get closer to his skin with every parry,  
“Careful, looks like you’re blowing your load already.”

Noticing the slight drop in speed, he blocked the next thrust instead and kicked her back before pulling out an ice crystal to toss at her before aiming Melodic, “Stay frosty Ice Queen.”, and fired for an icy explosion but she dodged at the last moment letting only her left foot to be frozen.

Ruby’s scythe forced Neo to remain on the defensive as she dodged due to it’s long reach and her proficiency to wield the massive weapon. But the second she looked away after hearing the explosion Neo went in and hit her stomach with the handle before smacking her with the body of the parasol and making her turn to kick her back to send her tumbling over to Weiss.

Walking over to them he raised his cane and aimed “GET AWAY FROM THEM!”, glancing to Yang as her hair flared up and her eyes turned bright red before charging with a right fist ready.

He tossed Melodic to Neo and was about to pull Yami.....but he chose not to and when she struck at him he grabbed her arm to push her down to the ground while keeping her arm up in place. “A frontal assault like that Blondie, is asking to lose an arm.”

He let her go and she went over to Ruby while he walked over to Weiss as he pulled out Yami from its sheath but Blake was stopping him, “Outta the way Kitty.”

“You think I’ll let you kill my friend?!”, and he glanced around the burning ballroom.

He grabbed Blake by her neck and lifted her up to see the anger in her eyes, “There’s no point in talking to you cause you won’t listen.”, and tossed her aside. He pulled out a fire dust crystal and placed it to Yami’s edge for it to burn crimson red again.

“No!”, but Blake’s scream was pointless as when Roman struck Weiss he thawed her frozen leg to their surprise. Pulling another cigar to light it with Yami’s burning edge before he looked at team RWBY’s confused expressions, “Why?”

He inhaled for a minute as a beam came crashing down before puffing out some smoke, “....I still want the door open...”

And they didn’t understand what that meant, but Neo knew that his words right now had to do with Ozpin’s proposal... “Get out, you’ve got two princesses in need of being carried.”. pointing to Weiss and Ruby.

They were going to question him but Neo saw and silenced them as she clicked the trigger on her parasol for the blade to extend and they finally understood. Yang helped Ruby while Blake helped Weiss for them to escape out the front.

Watching them leave Neo retracted the blade and walked over to Roman to tug his coat as he only looked forward to stare at the growing fire, _Roman?_

“....I’m hungry, you?”, knowing he was thinking about the paths that involved the woman Cinder and the one that was opened by Ozpin of Beacon, she wanted to ask but felt that he would tell her when he was ready to tell it.

Nod.

“Come on then cupcake.”, handing him back his cane after he reverted Yami back to normal and into its sheath.

As they left the burning mansion they walked back to where they parked their car to see most of Junior’s men were waiting for them while the ones who were more injured had already went to go to the hospital.  “Go back to Junior and tell him to burn those cases.”

They nodded and left one by one before Neo and Roman got in their car to drive to the usual diner.

\----

As they entered the diner he ignored the stares but there was murmurs when they noticed Yami strapped to him. They sat at an empty booth and before they could tell her, “Usual right?”, Parla asking them and they nodded as she wrote down their order before leaving with a smile.

And at the same time they got their food they looked towards the front door to see Junior, Melanie and Miltia come walking in and sat themselves in the booth behind Roman, “Hey Junior and hey Melanie and Miltia, the usual?”

“Just coffee for me,” while the twins nodded and left.

Someone turned on the TV that was up on the wall for a news reporter to be stood outside a burning building, “Got duped?”

Taking a sip from his coffee while he gestured Neo to start eating, “Yep....you dealt with the cases?”

“Had my boys take it to an abandoned building and...”, a loud explosion had shook the diner but everyone shook it off and went on like normal, “...it’s dealt with.”

Roman began to eat when Parla came back with Junior’s coffee and the twins’ food for them to eat. “How much trouble are we in this time?”

“Don’t you mean me Junior?”

“No I said we....how much?”

Finishing off his coffee...”Probably in deep shit.”

Junior laughed at that which startled the girls for a second but they went on and only listened, “Haha...sounds like the old days. You got a plan?”

“Who do you think you’re asking?”

“A sarcastic asshole who doesn’t know how many bullets are in the clip before he pulls the trigger.”

Roman glanced to Neo and she gave a short nod for him to chuckle, “Heh...the only time Neo has betrayed me.”

“Good, then she’s learning right. In the meantime no jobs, just kick back.”

“That woman called Cinder will definitely come back at me you know?”

Junior finishing his coffee, “You always have an escape plan on you right?”

“Hah....what do you recommend I do then?”

Junior placed lien on the table to pay for him and the twins while he gestured them to stay with Roman before he got up, “News say tomorrow gonna be a sunny day, good day to go to the beach for some peace and quiet.”

Watching him leave before Roman looked at the weather on his scroll, “Peace huh...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beach chapter up next, cause nothing can go wrong at the beach.....right?


	10. Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a day off for everyone

“We there yet?”, the Malachite twins said as they leaned to the middle to look at Roman while they sat in the back and Neo was busy playing a game on his scroll. “Asking every ten minutes isn’t gonna get us there faster.”

“Don’t you usually speed anyway Roman?”, he glanced at the rear view mirror to look at them, “I’m in a good mood right now, don’t ruin it with your stupidity.”, and they stuck their tongue at him before he focused back on the road.

It didn’t take that much longer as he pulled into a parking lot and got out first to check the beach. Looking onwards to the water to see numerous individuals, couples, and families already scattered around. Though when he scanned farther to the left he wondered why there was a harbor for a second but remembered there was a small island not far from here.

He circled round back to open the trunk to pull out the cooler, beach umbrella and a bag containing his and Neo’s clothes while Melanie and Miltia were playing with a beachball with Neo. “Hey, carry your own crap.”, pointing out to the two other bags still inside.

Once they got them out he locked it up and they headed for the beach to set up a spot and once that was done. “We’re gonna go get changed.”, the twins said carrying their bags while Neo pulled out the swimsuit she got with them earlier from their bag. Roman himself was already wearing black shorts and an opened white shirt so he laid down and put his black bowler hat over his face as he waved them off.

He enjoyed the peace and quiet as he quickly tuned out the sound of children and nagging mothers from his ears but it was still brief as he felt a presence next to him. He pulled the hat down just enough for him to see who it was with his right eye; standing above him with her usual beautiful face and deadpan expression was Cinder, in a dangerously eye-catching black string-bikini that clearly showed off her figure“...If this is your plan to make me consider your side...I hate to admit it’s working.”, pulling the hat back to cover himself.

She chuckled, “No, I still have to prepare.”, before laying down next to him and he slightly moved away from her while still keeping the hat on him. “Don’t you have some super villain quota to take care of, darling?”

“Even someone like me requires a break from failures.”, and he guessed she meant the White Fang.

“Well I can’t imagine you came here for a beach date Cinder, so spill it out already.”

He peeked an eye to lock eyes with her as she had her amused smile, “Who is it you’re protecting Roman?”

“Now why would I go and tell you that? You might break my heart if I tell you dear.”

“Cause no matter what you do, it won’t save them from the flood that will happen.”

“So you’re saying you're the ark? Surprised the ship isn’t on fire already.”, he moved his left hand towards his bag and kept his grip on the pistol inside it.

“Even with the useless fools, it pays to have a few competent servants.”

Trying to remember the faces....”That reminds me, where's Emmy and Spike?”

Since she was talking to him while on her side she moved to lay down on her back and he saw past her a ways away was Emerald wearing a green bikini while staring daggers at him and Mercury in silver and black trunks was making a rather detailed sand castle next to her as he ignored his partner. “Don’t think that pair can fix all the cracks in your ship Cinders.”

“They have their uses, and so do you.”

“I’d rather not sail with the kraken at my throat, even sailing into the abyss and drowning sounds better. Now as much as I enjoy your subtle-threatening company and resisting my natural male desire to undress you in my mind, would you kindly leave me so I can enjoy the rest of my day?”, she stared for about a minute until she got up and left him. He watched until she was far enough away before he let go of the gun and pulled the hat back to cover his face.

“Cheating on Neo already Roman?”, not even having to look to recognize the twins’ voices.

“Not my fault women want me.”, giving them a quick answer but he sat up after putting his hat on to see them in their bikinis even though they were relatively as revealing as their usual street clothes.

He pulled out a pack from the bag and lit a smoke before Neo got his attention, _Wasn’t that..._

“Don’t worry about it, if she was gonna strike she would have done it while I was already down.”, quickly dismissing her worry before he tilted his head looking at Neo’s pink and brown patterned two piece, “Not bad Neo.”

Looking flushed after that comment but he glanced to the twins who were looking proud of themselves and he guessed they helped pick the swimsuit when they went to the store before the drive. “Well you guys go have fun, I’m gonna take a nap.”, about to lay back down but the twins quickly grabbed his arms.

“Come on Roman!”

“At least get in the water!”, he was still stronger than them combined so he didn’t budge but he looked to Neo, _Please?_ , and sighed.

“Fine,” letting them pull him up before he tossed his hat and shirt to his bag then following them to the water. They played around throwing the beach ball to each other but Roman walked ahead into the sea still smoking as the water eventually reached up to his shoulders. “Roman, heads up!”, glancing to the water on his right side to see the ball in the reflection before he flipped backwards for him to kick the ball back.

While submerged upside down he saw the ball ended up hitting Melanie’s forehead and she was glaring at him as she was annoyed while Miltia and Neo were laughing. He smiled at the three knowing full well they couldn’t see him while he was underwater.

While he floated underwater he looked up to see the blurred blue sky _, Even if she’s crazy I somewhat believe her, and if she’s the same person Ozzy was talking about then she’s got a trump card waiting in her deck...._

_Stand with the demon and watch the world burn by her hands....or help the hunters of light to push back the darkness....sounds like a bad fairytale._

_....Too bad I’m living it... and I probably have less time than I think i do....but do I run to the demon’s searing flames or to the hunters’ fragile bleeding hearts?_

But before he could answer his thoughts he was pulled up to the surface and it took a few seconds to rub the water out of his eyes to see it was a worried Neo who pulled him up. “Roman you okay?!”, glancing to the twins that were next to them who looked equally worried.

“What?”

“You were under there for a few minutes and didn’t come up...we thought you collapsed or something.....”, even though their words were clear he was still lost as his personal thoughts clouded his mind but he snapped back once he noticed how hard Neo was clutching to him.

“Sigh...you guys worry too much.”

“You’ve never worried about yourself so someone has to! It’s usually Junior but he’s not here to tell you off...”

“Yeah but Junior worries about everything, and I don’t need little girls like you two worrying about me either.”, ruffling the twins’ hair for a few seconds before letting go. They at first responded with annoyed expressions since it was clear he was treating them like children but they eventually giggled and smiled after seeing his own smile.

Turning back down to Neo who was still clutching to him, “You worry bout me too cupcake?”, she looked up and he could still see a bit of worry in her so he kissed her forehead which cheered her up a bit.

“You guys keep playing, I’m gonna get a drink from the cooler.”, patting Neo’s head before she let go and he made his back to the shore to their spot. Drying his hands off first before popping open a can of beer to take a sip when he heard a loud crash to his side.

Once the sand fog dissipated he now noticed there was a pair of legs and a yellow tail sticking out of the sand. He figured it could be a dead body and decided to ignore it until the legs started moving, but he looked around first to see there was no one remotely worried about it so he eventually put his beer down to grabbing one of the legs and pulled.

Pulling the person out revealed him to be that monkey faunus he saw at the zoo a while ago, “H-hey...thanks for the....help...ma’am,” though he was so dazed it was like he was drunk as he was stumbling around. Roman pulled out another beer from the cooler and shook it before he handed it to the monkey then picked up his own.

“This...for me...? Thanks....was thirsty...”, he found it amusing seeing the monkey slowly try to pop open the beer and fail five times before eventually opening it, yet it shot out into his face. “Awake now monkey boy?”

He held a rather stupid face for about thirty seconds before shaking his head to snap himself back, “Woah...yeah. Sorry about the beer and really, thanks for the help.”

“Don’t expect anymore, that’s my good deed for the century.”, Sun looked a bit confused while Roman glanced behind the monkey to see something charging as some dust fog was coming closer. “Turnaround kid, I think I saw something on your back.”, gesturing him to turn.

“Really?”, he reached for his back and eventually turned around before Roman crouched behind him while covering his beer as something hit the brakes and kicked up the sand. But he was completely fine thanks to the meat shield taking all the splash damage.

Coughing a bit first until the sand cleared up, “SUN!”, and surprisingly Roman recognized the voice from a certain blondie. “Y-yang it was an accident alright I didn't mean to cut a strand, I’m sorry!!”, peeking from the side of the monkey boy called Sun he could see a rather very pissed off Yang.

He glanced back to the sea to see Neo and the twins were coming back and he figured he’d need to dissolve this to avoid any trouble, “Move when I tell you monkey boy.”

He had his hands up ready to block whatever attack Yang was going to do but he spoke in a low voice back to him, “If you take a hit from her you’re gonna die man.”

“Just shut up and do it,” as she was slowly walking over Yang was steaming with her fists clenched and her red eyes seemed to pierce Sun but he gulped and nodded. Roman waited patiently listening to Yang’s muffled footsteps from the sand until he could tell she pulled back her fist when Sun flinched, “Move.”

Sun listened and Yang was to enraged to see that her mark had changed when Roman stood up and pulled her arm to force her to chug the rest of his still pretty full beer. He let go of her arm as it went limp and he had to grab her by the waist to stop her from falling as the expression on her face changed from anger to that of drunken bliss, “Huh...didn’t figure you for a lightweight Blondie”, he glanced at the empty beer can in his hand....“Though I did buy something stronger than what I’m use too.”

“Hehe..hick...hehe”, letting her drop to her knees as he pulled a towel to wipe off the beer that spilled on his hand when he poured the drink, “I don’t know how you pissed her off but she’s not anymore so take her away before she gets sober Sunny.”

“Yang! Sun!”

Looking off into the distance he could see Ruby and a few others that he recognized, “Great, it’s never just one it’s always all.”, annoyed at the sight he went back to his shady spot to drink another beer from the cooler.

“Yang? Are you okay?!”

“Hehe...theres two Rubes...is there two mes?”, pointing to herself while giving an awfully dumb looking smile to her dear sister who sighed a relief that she was **just** drunk and not hurt.

“Torchwick!”, Blake confronting him.

He didn’t bother looking at her as he waved at the twins and Neo before drinking some more, “That’s my name, don’t wear it out Kitten.”

“What are **you** doing here?”, Weiss standing to her teammate’s side as she had her arms crossed.

“Thought you were the smart one Ice Queen, but I’ll give you two hints; I’m half naked and I’m drinking at the beach. Please enlighten me what I’m doing dear.”

“Hmm....ah! A day off?”, recognizing the weak looking blonde as Jauney boy who decided to enter the conversation.

“Wooo boy, looks like theres hope for you yet Jauney.”, giving him a slow clap before he finished his beer.

“There a problem Roman?”, glancing to his right to see the twins with Neo between them as they were staring off the other group. “No problem, just a friendly chat. Isn’t that right?”, looking back to Blake and Weiss who could already tell that the twins were a bit dangerous.

“Of course! We’re all good friends here...”, Jaune tried to diffuse the tension even though he was in the dark about everything that happened last night.

He patted the space next to him for Neo to sit next to him and the twins to sit close by so he could toss a beer to each of them, “Mr. Torchwick?”

Glancing over his shoulder to see two of Junior’s men carrying cardboard boxes, “Bring it over.”, waving them to come after shooing Kitten and Ice Queen to give them space for the henchmen to lay out an array of asian cuisine from the cardboard boxes.

He pulled out from his bag to toss some lien for them to catch as they left, “Alright, eat it while it’s still warm....Oh, are you guys hungry too?”

Noticing Blake’s drool as she was eying the tuna and Jaune rubbed his stomach signifying some hunger, “Since I’m a gentleman, if you shut your traps and don’t annoy me you’re free to eat.”

“Oh...Roman..”, surprisingly he noticed Pyrrha and could only smile at the red-haired amazon, “Why hello Starlet, feeling better?”

Since Team RWBY couldn’t exactly forget as if last night didn’t happen so they persuaded Pyrrha and Jaune to be the ones sitting next to Roman so they could fit on the blankets, even though Pyrrha herself was slightly uncomfortable sitting next to the casual criminal. She was surprised to see that for the moment he had focused his attention to the three girls that were already with him and somewhat ignored her and her companions’ existence except for when he made and passed bowls of rice for everyone.

“By the way Roman, Gale said she might come later.”, Melanie spoke before grabbing some octopus with her chopsticks

“Ugh....if she does please play with her and keep her away from me.”

“I don’t get it. You always had a problem with her even though she’s the one that probably loved you the most out of the recruits back then.”, Miltia continued as she picked up some of the fried eel.

“As much as I enjoy causing pain to those who fear it, it feels disgusting when they enjoy it and Gale is unfortunately the latter.”, while this seemed like a completely normal discussion to the Roman crew, it was very strange for RWBY and half of JNPR to hear hints of sadism and masochism about an individual not present as if it was the norm.

When Pyrrha tried to reach something across from her Roman followed what she was aiming for and gestured Miltia to pass the noodles to give to her but as she was about to respond with a thank you she instead nodded remember his condition, “How come Junior didn’t want to come?”

They looked to him with a sadden expression, “What?”

“...It’s the 3rd Friday of the month...”, they answered together before retreating back to their beers. It took Roman a few seconds before he hit his forehead which made him fall back, “Fuck....he’s missed the last two times cause of me so I forgot.....how’s his mother?”

“The doctor from the psych ward said she doesn’t have night terrors anymore....”

“...But she can’t remember Junior’s first name anymore...”

Hearing Junior’s mother’s condition only pushed him down more and he eventually sat back up to quickly light a smoke to gain some comfort. But other than the twins who were quietly eating and Neo the rest of the lunch-mates had stopped eating to look at him, “Staring is annoying, so enough.”

Ruby herself raised a hand and Roman was contemplating whether it was gonna be stupid or not.., “Um, we’re suppose to be enemies but...what happened to Junior’s mother?”

It was stupid and he puffed a smoke aimed towards her as she swatted it away, “It’s not my place to say and it’s none of your business Red.”

Seeing how serious and pissed off his expression appeared had effectively killed everyone else’s desire to pursue it so they quietly finished their lunch. Once they ate everything a different pair of Junior’s men came back to pick everything up and Roman paid them like the last pair as they left.

The twins wanted to get rid of the silence so they stood up as they picked up the ball, “There's a net over there, do you guys wanna play volleyball?”

And Weiss was the one to bring to up, “We’re on different sides...”

Leading the awkward silence that was broken up by Roman himself after he put out his cigarette, “Professionally we’re opposite sides of the same coin Ice Queen, personally we’re no more than strangers with opposing moral views Miss Schnee.”

They were stunned at that serious comment but his follow up definitely made some sparks, “Sides, wouldn’t want you to melt after losing to my girls Ice Queen.”, and wearing his ever proud smirk.

“Ruby, Blake, Jaune, we’re playing! Sun you’re on their team to make it even.”, getting up and heading for the net after they set up an umbrella and blanket down next to Roman’s for Yang who fell asleep after eating to rest on.

Neo looked to Roman first for him to ruffle her hair, “Go have fun ice cream, who knows when you can play carefree again.”, nodding to that she followed after the twins before they started their competitive game.

Though as he reached to his left for the cooler he finally noticed Pyrrha was still sitting next to him after he bumped into her, but he eventually grabbed the cooler and dragged it closer to where it was at least an arm's length for him as it was now behind her. “Something on your mind Starlet?”

“Junior’s mother....does she...”

Popping open a can and he at first offered to her but she refused so he drank before he spoke, “You’re smart Starlet, you do the math. She’s elderly, mother to a former gangster/current criminal, she’s in a psych ward, and now she can’t remember her own son’s name.”

“Dementia...”

“Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner,” responding in the most sarcastic voice she’s heard from him yet.

She watched him down the rest of his beer and crushed the can before stepping on a mine.“What about your family Roman?”

Thinking back for a very brief second before killing the memory, “Heh....what family?”

He pulled out two cans and handed her one without evening asking her before he popped his open, “I’m having a good day Pyrrha, I don’t want to ruin it. By the way; you look good, Jauney boy is pretty lucky.”

She blushed as her attention turned to Jaune who had fallen to the sand when he failed to save the ball and let his opponent get the point, “Too bad he doesn’t see you like that does he?”

“How?”

“It’s pretty easy to see how you look at him, and it’s easy to see how he doesn’t look at you like he does Ice Queen,” gesturing her to look again as it looked like Jaune's failed attempt to flirt earned him a slap to the cheek.

“It’s honestly quite hilarious how blind he is, but boys usually are.”

Glancing to Neo and the twins, she was about to ask before he continued, “Looks like Jauney sprained his ankle, they’re calling for you Starlet.”

Still wanting to ask but she didn’t want to keep them waiting and only nodded to him before she left to substitute Jaune. Roman took another glance at Neo’s smile before he laid back down to put his hat over his face as he slowly drifted off.

_Even if I’m walking to death’s door...I’ll protect your smile Neo._

\-----

By the time Roman woke up and took his hat off his face he saw the sun was setting and everyone had seemed to be tired. He assumed they played more games other than volleyball.

 _Had a good nap?_ , noticing Neo’s hands first as she signed before he pulled her down to embrace her, “Would have been better if I had a certain colorful pillow with me.”

He laughed while she was hitting and struggling to free herself, “A-ahem...”, first he noticed Neo being more red than usual from his teasing before looking around to see the twins snickering on one side and Weiss and Blake trying not to pay attention while Ruby and Yang were somewhat bothered by the lovey-dovey atmosphere Roman put up with the adorable Neo on the other side.

“Ah...forgot you guys were here.”, letting go of Neo for her to get up and him to sit up so she could punch him in the shoulder while her cheeks were still a bit red. “Looks like superstar, monkey boy and blondie Jr. left, so why are you guys still here?”

“While we’re enemies....we didn’t thank you for the food yet and she insisted on letting you sleep.”, following Weiss’ gaze to Neo who smiled brightly.

Roman gestured to the twins and they passed him his pack and his lighter, “Don’t mention it Ice Queen.”, before lighting a smoke then checked his scroll for the time. “Guess it's about time we head out too.”

Standing up for the twins to pick up the blankets, cooler and beach umbrella back to the car while Roman and Neo stood with Team RWBY, “Had fun Neo?”

Answering with a nod, “Well then, I’m sure you girls have to go home and be good little hunters now huh?”, they could clearly hear the sarcasm though they were surprised by his genuine smile after it. “No doubt you’ll aim to arrest me or something after this, but thanks for letting her have a fun memory.”,

Waving them bye as they turned to head for their car, “Why do you do it?”, glancing back to see Ruby stepping forward with a question that he’s heard too much at this point.

Answering first with a chuckle, “Some of us don’t have the luxury to make our own choices Red and even if I could I prioritize my well-being over others.”

“So you’re still just a selfish...”, but Blake stopped herself when Roman turned around to face them.

“This world ain’t unicorns and rainbows Kitten, I’ve seen what it can do and I know how things will end. I may be twisted but there are far worst monsters out there than me who would have crushed you four like bugs instead of letting you go last night.”

Turning back to leave, “What do you gain from it huh?! What do you gain from hurting others?”

“It’s not what I have to gain, it’s that I can’t afford to lose.”

Yang and Ruby didn’t quite understand but Weiss and Blake looked like they understood quite well what his words meant. “If I have to tell you that again Red, it means you’ve learned nothing and can’t save anyone.”


	11. Deals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a bumpy road.

Ring...ring....ring...blinking his eyes open to see the grey ceiling of his apartment as he heard his scroll ringing. He first sat up straight on the couch and stretched his limbs before glancing into his room to see Neo and the twins asleep on his bed.

He glanced behind him before pulling himself up to grab his phone that was still ringing on the dinner table. Seeing the ID only as Bar, [You better have a damn good reason for waking me up this early.]

[S-sorry Mr. Torchwick, w-we kinda need you at the bar..], he didn’t recognize the voice and it seemed younger so he assumed it was a new hire, [Where’s Junior?]

[W-we haven’t-], Roman could hear in the background an older man berating the other for his stuttering before answer again, [Sorry Mr. Torchwick, Mr. Xiong hasn’t returned from his visit yet and he has appointments and meet ups planned for today. We remembered that he told us to ask you whenever he’s gone.]

Glancing at the clock to see it was about to be 7:45AM, [When is the first appointment for today?]

[The first appointment is at 9:00AM sir.]

[Then you know the drill, sweep the bar for bug three times over.]

[Yes, Mr. Torchwick.]

Hanging up the scroll before pouring himself a glass of water from the sink, _He must be staying another day to make up for the lost time..._

As he walked into his room he noticed a half-asleep Neo sitting up right and looking around with one open eye, “Morning sunshine.”, reaching over to ruffle her hair but she wasn’t awake enough to react to it other than nodding. “Get some more sleep, you three were up pretty late last night anyway.”

Walking past the bed to open up his closet and pulling out a coat similar to the one he wore at the party except it was black and had white petals instead. “I’ll probably be just at the bar for today, so just text me if you need me ice cream.”

His words took awhile for her to process in her current state but eventually nodded yes and he grabbed his clothes and a towel before heading to the shower while she went back to sleep.

\-----

After his quick shower and picking up some coffee from a cafe did he made his way to the bar. It was clear of people except for Junior’s men who half of them were cleaning and wiping the place clean and the other half was busy sweeping the entire place with police grade bug detectors.

Even though they were busy they quickly waved Roman in before he walked up to the DJ’s platform and faced the back wall that was just a tall mirror. Though with just a light push the outline of a door could be seen as it opened to a medium sized office with four of Junior’s men busy scanning it for bugs.

He walked around Junior’s desk to sit himself in the comfy black chair before putting his feet up on the desk while he peacefully drank his coffee that was still pretty warm. Setting his coffee aside when he checked the time on his scroll, 8:50AM

An older man walked to stand in front of the desk and Roman at least recognized that this one has been with Junior since the Syndicate, “Mr. Torchwick, we’ve swept the building three times over like you asked and we’re clean.”

“Good, how are things with the security company?”

“Currently we’ve obtained forty-five percent of ARMORED’s former contracts and already have eyes in the workplaces after we set up our security system for them.”

“Mr. Torchwick, the nine o'clock is here”, a younger voice spoke from outside and he gestured to bring him in after the ones scanning for bugs and the older one left the room.

Coming in was a man he figured was in his early thirties if not late twenties while his most notable features were his sideburns but other than that Roman felt there was something else different about him, “I was expecting Junior.”

“Junior’s got business he had to attend to, but lucky for you I’m here to deal my friend.”, gesturing him to sit before he took another sip from his coffee.

The man glanced around and back to the exit to see Junior’s men keeping watch before he listened to sit down, “And you are?”

“Roman Torchwick, at your service.”

He eyed the casual criminal with some skeptical eyes, “Ain’t you a bit young to be doing this kind of thing boy?”

Roman smiled as he put his feet down and matched eyes with the older gentleman, “Ain’t you a bit too hairy to be a filthy human?”

Staring each other down until the man returned with a smile as he leaned back into the chair, “Can’t do nothing about my heritage.”

“Neither can I,” leaning back in his own chair before pulling out his usual tools to light his smoke, “Now then. In Junior’s absence, how can I be of service Mr....”

“Tukson is fine, I need a way to Vacuo. Preferably unnoticed and no trail.”

Roman grabbed a couple of files that were stacked to the side and searched through them until he found Tukson’s file since he knew Junior usually catalogued everyone, “Who you dodging?”

“I’m just trying to return home without the hassle of authorities.”

“Which is bullshit cause you don’t have a record or anything the idiots in blue would be interested in,”, flipping through his file to look at his history and other records, “Let me guess, White Fang?”

“Ex White Fang...and is that a problem?”

“Just means finding the right smuggler and a higher payment needed from you cause I imagine the bloodthirsty White Fang don’t just let people leave.”

He pushed himself from the desk to roll the chair back a little bit before he pulled the bottom drawer and quickly scanned for a file while Tukson waited quietly as Roman sped-read through the file, “It’s Saturday so the fastest we can get you out is by Thursday next week, and it’s gonna cost seventy-five thousand.”

“Seventy-five thousand?”, Tukson was a bit stunned by the price.

Putting down and flipped it so it was up right for Tukson to see a picture of a shady looking man who was part of a larger caravan, “It would have been a twenty-five thousand payment regardless of race, but the fifty thousand more is for the hazard pay of smuggling an Ex-terrorist. Do we have a deal?”

Tukson, crossed his arms as he thought about it but quickly accepted that even regular smugglers wouldn’t help someone like him given his background, “Deal.”

“Smart choice, try to stay alive till then.”, gesturing him to leave as the deal was done and so was Tukson’s reason to be here. Tukson nodded and left while Roman put away the files he read through and resumed his relaxed position with his legs on the desk again.

“When's the next appointment?”

The older man came in and pulled out his scroll to check, “The next appointment is scheduled at 10:30, Mr Torchwick.”

Looking at the time himself showed that he roughly had an hour to kill time, “I’m going to the diner, hold the fort till I’m back.”

“Yes Mr. Torchwick.”

\----

After a very quick drive Roman went inside the diner but instead of Parla he was greeted by a different skinny girl who had a more shy nature in comparison and told her to tell the cook the usual while he slid himself into a free booth.

He checked his messages to see nothing from Neo, the twins, or from Junior. “H-here you go...”, setting down his glass of iced tea first before she was about to set his plate down but tripped forward. Though Roman raised a finger and kept the plate from spilling by pushing up the edge of the plate, “I think I can take it from here darling.”

Slowly taking the plate from her before she stood back up with a rather embarrassed expression then leaving. However, as he was about to eat, his attention was drawn to the television when someone changed the channel and it began with a man who introduced himself as James Ironwood, the General of the Atlesian Military.

He wasn’t particularly interested in his speech or conversation with the reporter, but his attention was focused on the background behind them. The weapons, the dust, but what held his curiosity the most was some truck driving by carrying something that was covered by a tarp but the bottom caught loose and exposed what he saw were metal legs for some kind of heavy mech.

“Atlas never changes does it Roman?”, while he ate he brought his eyes up to see the old timer from the drugstore but he was wearing a black suit and dark fedora. “Always stroking their military ego Old Timer....why the suit?”

“Ah....I was on my way to visit Maria but I saw you and decided to see how you were doing. You didn’t look so good last time you came to the store.”

“We both know I’ve been in way worse shape than that Old Timer,” Roman continued to eat while the cook himself who was a tall burly man came by to pour the old man a cup of hot tea, “Ah thank you, Sebastian.”, and he nodded before returning back to the kitchen.

After taking a sip from his coffee, “Very true, but you should still take better care of yourself Roman. That reminds me, how is that girl Neo?”

“She’s doing well, though she still has nightmares.”

“Junior told me she stabbed you last week because of a nightmare. At some point Roman she will kill you because of these nightmares since you can’t stop her from having them.”

Finishing his plate he pushed to the side for the shy waitress to come by and quickly pick it up while Roman sipped his iced tea, “One step at a time Old Timer.”

He chuckled as he finished his tea, “You’ve grown a lot since than Roman, but when it comes to her...you haven’t changed one bit. But maybe that’s for the best.”

Getting out of the booth first, “Well I must be on my way then.”

“Wait,” pulling out a couple of lien and placing them at the edge next to the Old Timer, “Give her my respects, and I’ll remind Junior to have a close friend make sure her stone is clean.”

He smiled before he took the lien and tipped his fedora, “I’ll see you around Roman.”, seeing him leave as numerous others and Sebastian waved him off.

Roman checked his scroll for the time before leaving lien to pay for the meal and drove back in a haste by going thirty over the speed limit.

\----

Though when Roman entered the bar he thought it was strange that there was a rather very strong scent of coffee in the air and it smelled familiar to him. “Sir, the 10:30 came early and is already waiting inside.”

Waving off the henchman that addressed him as he walked up to the DJ’s platform and entered the office to see first only the back of a woman sat in the chair but he knew he’d seen the beret somewhere...

But once she turned, “Oh, it’s cool guy.”, he recognized her and tried to put on his best business smile. “Ah Miss Adel. Of all people, I didn’t expect to see you sweetheart.”, making his way around to sit in the chair so there was the desk between them.

“I thought I’d be meeting with a stiff called Junior though.”

Noticing the empty cup before looking behind Coco to see one of the young henchmen about to come in with the coffee maker but Roman waved him to go away, “He’s busy trying to find himself, but fortunately for you I’m available to tend to your needs.”

While he didn’t know Coco Adel personally or know any dirt on her he recognized the surname belonging to a company that was fairly big if not a giant in the fashion industry. So the only thing on his mind was what this girl, who was also a huntress, is here for. “Now then, what exactly is it you’re here for sweetheart?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of my family’s company?”

Glancing around the desk and moving some of the papers and files until he pulled out a fashion magazine and raised it for her to see, “It’s pretty hard not to know the Adel Line or you with something like this dear,” which had Coco as the model for a rather tight-fitting bikini showcasing their new swimsuit line-up and clearly showing off her well-maintained figure.

Coco displayed a rather satisfying smirk after seeing that, “Then that makes things easy, while my family enjoys having competition we always prefer knowing our competitors.”

“This kind of job seems more fitting for a private investigator, don’t you think?”

“A PI wouldn’t be able to find _everything_ because of legal reasons, and I’m here because I assume there are people as good if not better than a PI that isn’t bound by limits.”, showing off a charming smile but he couldn’t read her eyes since she had her shades on.

“Well if it’s skeletons you’re looking for then you’ve come to the right place. I’m sure once Junior’s returned from his drunken pilgrimage today he have’ll what you're looking for in a few days to a week at most sweetie.”

He figured that was that and she’d promptly leave but instead she sat still staring at him with an expression that he could only assume was curiosity but for what? “Is there something else you wanted Miss Adel?”

“Call me Coco, and have we met before? I mean even before the boutique.”

He chuckled though he remembered he did have to attend some events and parties when he was an enforcer and was his old boss’ bodyguard so it’s not impossible but highly unlikely, “I’m positive we haven’t since I’m certain I would’ve remembered someone so stunningly beautiful don’t you agree?”, keeping up his business smile.

While he couldn’t see her eyes he could feel her stare on him, waiting for him to crack or have one of those Oh I remember now moments but he kept up his act.

But instead of continuing the silence she accepted the compliment, “Heh, quite the lady pleaser aren’t you?  Why don’t we have some coffee next time?”, then got up to toss a card for him to catch as she left and he couldn’t help but stare at her body as she did.

Once she was gone the older man walked back in, “She’s a confident young woman isn’t she?”

“And confidence is dangerous Walter,” Roman held up the card which had only her hand written name and phone number as if it was long prepared already. “Get the boys to search the buildings around the bar to see if there's any lingering hunters and/or huntresses and just take their picture.”

“Understood, Mr. Torchwick.”, Walter turned as he pulled out a radio and issued an order before they could hear a group of footsteps moving and eventually fading out of the bar.

“What do we got next?”

Walter turned back to Roman, “With the help from a certain professor the city of Vale has already repaired the docks and an arms dealer named Iris from Atlas should be waiting for Junior but I’ve already contacted her to expect you instead.”

“You always were ahead of everyone when it came to these things weren’t you? I honestly still don’t understand why you’ve chosen to stay under Junior even now Walter.”

“It’s less stressful to be under someone else’s leadership rather bear the responsibilities myself, and because I owe Mr. Xiong my daughter’s life I’m content with where I am. Though it’s reassuring to know you and Ms. Neo are well too.”

Roman lit another smoke before he got up from the chair then checked his scroll for messages, and only two messages which showed first a surprisingly red Neo with a loose towel on and an expression screaming No! The second photo was a selfie of the three of them together at the park showing happy smiles.

...But still nothing from Junior, “You remember where the institution is Walter?”

“For Junior’s mother? Yes I do.”

“Do me a favor and see what’s taking him....Take along some of the boys and some hardware too.”

“Bad feeling, Mr. Torchwick?”

“Bad feeling, Walts.”, Walter nodded to that and left while Roman could hear him commanding the other henchmen still left before he left to drive for the docks.

\-----

Once he got there he was directed by several shady looking characters before pointing him to the middle of the docks where there was an open warehouse. There was several characters there that fit the build of bodyguards but they only looked as he headed further into the warehouse where he could tell from the outline of their body was a woman standing over a table.

“I’m assuming you’re Iris sweetheart?”, he addressed them and she finally turned revealing herself to be a woman of mid-twenties and wore a heavy black coat along with what he assumed were shorts since the coat was long enough to cover it. “Roman?”

“You know it.”, showing off his smirk but she rolled her eyes, “You’re skinnier than I figured you’d be.”

“Sorry hun, not a fan of juicing up like your little boys here.”, and his simple taunts easily got through the standing guards who growled at him.

“But let’s stay on track here doll, do you have the weapons?”

“You got the money?”

“Obviously I wouldn’t have it on me sweetheart, you’ll go to the place I tell you to and pick it up yourself.”

She was taken aback from that but snapped, “What the fuck? That’s not how this works. Get me the money or no deal.”

“You’re dealing with me Iris dear, and this is exactly how it’s going to work from here on out. Besides you haven’t even shown me the weapons to prove this is a deal or not.”, staring him down before she glanced to one of her men.

The man who nodded towards her made his over to Roman before he placed a hand on his shoulder. Roman himself just sighed, “Really love? And we were having such a peaceful chat,”  and without even looking he raised Melodic for the end to touch the guard’s chest before he pulled the trigger and turning him into ashes.

Iris and the rest of the guards were shocked but came back as they pulled out batons and a few of them aimed pistols at him, he slowly walked over to Iris while the guards followed to surround him. He reached a hand out to tip her chin up to make her look at him, “Call them off dear, and make this a lot less painful.”

Looking at his smirk before seeing his eyes that showed no hesitation but..”Kill him!”, but as they were about to attack she heard eight muffled shots as blood spilled from her guards’ heads and their lifeless corpses dropped to the floor.

Glancing over his shoulder she saw eight of Junior’s henchmen carrying high-powered sniper rifles equipped with suppressors walking in, “Sigh, I thought you’d be a tad smarter for an arms dealer.”, hitting her face with a backhand.

Iris recovered quickly and threw a left straight at his face but he took off his hat as he stomped forward to headbutt her fist as she hit the center of his forehead for a loud crack to be heard.

She screamed in pain as she held her hand but didn’t get the chance to worry as he lifted her by her neck and slammed her down on the table before he put his hat back on, “You done sweetie? Cause this is rather very boring.”

She tried hitting his arm with her unbroken hand but she could feel the his grip around her throat getting only tighter as she continued to struggle, “Just say the magic words darling so you can spare me the enjoyment of hearing your last breaths.”

Iris continued to fight but she knew her struggling was only making things worse as his grip tightened and she gasping for breaths until... “....I-i-I’ll show you!”

Showing her his smile before he let go and she collapsed to the ground trying to slowly catch her breath. He waited patiently as she slowly could breathe normally again then got up while still holding her hand to walk towards a couple of crates.

She tried to push the cover open but failed so Roman had two of the men come and push the cover off to reveal a large assortment of rifles. The next two crates were filled with swords and axes while the last crate she showed was filled a large quantity of fire dust.

“Looks like you’re pretty good, though I was expecting more.”

“This is all equipment I was able to steal from the Atlesian Armory! What else is there?!”

As he waved a couple of Junior’s men to load up one of the trucks with the crates he turned to back to her, “I’ve heard Atlas has some new hardware that’s still in the prototype stages, I want it.”

“What the fuck?! I ain’t risking my life to get that kinda shit!”, and her outburst lead him to grab her left arm and twisted her wrist for her to crumble to her knees as she screamed. “You’re quite the screamer, can only imagine how much you scream in bed too.”

While he was obviously saying it as a joking matter she was now afraid of how nonchalant he was being while it felt like he was going to twist her hand off, “I’ll do it, just please let go!”

“Thanks for your cooperation dear, maybe next time we can have a nice dinner huh?”, letting go of her wrist and he could see some tears in her eyes when a car came into the warehouse. One of junior’s men got out and opened the trunk to bring out a large black duffel bag before tossing it in front of Iris.

“Here’s the payment, and next time you listen to me or I’ll make sure you won’t be able to please yourself with that hand of yours anymore.”, her eyes still tearing up from the pain but she grabbed the bag and ran to office for whatever safety she thought it had for her.

While the henchmen were busy loading up the trucks with the other crates stocked with weaponry and dust he got a call as his phone rang. Checking to see it was Junior, [You know you could call if you were planning to dump all this on me.]

[Shut up smartass, things came up and I couldn’t tell you. Anyway, my car broke down near the edge of the industrial district so come pick me up.]

[Really? I sent Walter and some of the boys to the institution to see what the hell you were doing.], Roman noticed that while he talked normally Junior seemed slightly out of breath if not he sounded haggard.

[I’ll call them back while you’re on your way here. Hey, you remembered to water my cactus while you were in my office right?]

He recognized that phrase and immediately understood as the men noticed the expression on Roman’s face was grim, [....Yeah I remember, it’ll take a few hours with the traffic so better sit like a good boy.]

[Yeah, sorry bout this Roman.]

Hanging up on him first but Roman was suddenly filled with anger as he clenched his fist and ultimately cracked his scroll in half...

But he took a deep breath to calm himself for a minute before he pulled out a second scroll that was a duplicate of his first one and entered a number before waiting, [....This is Beacon Academy, how can I help you?]

[Tell Ozpin it’s Roman Torchwick.]

The henchmen waited around since they knew not to deal with Roman when he was pissed off, [.....Roman? Have you considered my offer?]

[Put that offer on hold.....I want to make a deal.]

⧫⧫⧫⧫

[....Yeah I remember, it’ll take a few hours with the traffic so better sit like a good boy.]

[Yeah, sorry bout this Roman.], hanging up on the phone before Junior who appeared badly beaten and fatigued turned in his chair.

“There I fucking did it, now let her go!”, answering to the other side of the office where Cinder and Mercury was while Emerald was humoring an elderly woman in a wheelchair who was rambling on about her past and speaking of Hei as if he wasn’t in the same room.

“In due time Xiong, for now let’s hope Roman really does have a heart for those close to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Roman life is hard.


	12. The Joker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make it look real folks.

[What are you saying?]

[Just do what I say Melanie, head to the apartment and take Neo’s stuff so she can stay with you guys.], Roman continued to speed, driving through red lights and pedestrians diving out of the way at the last second.

[But why?]

He looked ahead to see a cop car there to stop him and the cop was about to get out. Roman swerved for the side of his car to slam against the cop’s and busted the door before driving off. [Cause I don’t know how deep my grave is. Junior’s already involved and I’m not letting you three get involved while I still can.]

[Seriously Roman what’s happening? We’re really scared right now Roman...]

[Just fucking do what I say and Neo.....I’m sorry, but I have to break my promise.], hanging up before tossing his scroll to the backseat as he hit the gas.

With his speeding it didn’t take long for him to reach the end of the Industrial District but as he drove around there wasn’t any signs of where Junior would be until he stopped at what appeared to be an abandoned factory building with one of the white fang members guarding the front door.

Figuring he was in deep already he’d let out a bit of steam, so he hit the gas and rammed the White Fang member with his car through the double doors. He got out once the smoke cleared to see it was some type of machinery factory as he ignored the desperate cries for help from the White Fang member who was still alive under his car.

“Some shitty parking there Torchy.”, glancing up to Mercury standing on the edges of a hanging cauldron. “Ah, Mercury right? It’s dangerous to stand so high my boy, what’ll happen if you explode?”, raising Melodic to fire a shot to which Mercury jumped off fast enough before blasting the cauldron to pieces.

“Bit trigger happy huh?”, he dusted himself off after landing safely on a conveyor belt.

“Got a bit of a twitchy finger my friend,” firing another shot when Mercury spun to kick the burning shot away to explode against a wall. “Nothing I can do about it I’m afraid.”, firing another shot for him to jump over then charged at Roman.

He jumped to drop kick Roman when he used his cane to block but something blasted out of his heels sending him flying back while Roman was staggered. Mercury shot himself up with his heels before coming down to drop kick Roman’s left shoulder.

He gritted his teeth from the hit but while Mercury was still in air he spun to aim for a spinning kick against the side of his head. Roman waited till his leg was close enough to duck backwards before grabbing his leg to notice it felt strange but spun him around before tossing him away.

He crashed into a couple of boxes but didn’t have the moment to rest when Roman fired three shots, he kicked the first two away before firing a shot from his heel to explode the third one.

As Roman was about fire again he stopped once he felt a burning sensation touch his lower right side before her breath down his neck, “That’s quite enough don’t you think?”

Keeping his finger still tight on the trigger he glanced to his left to see Cinder with a satisfying smile on her face, “You really know how to kill a man’s fun huh dollface?”

“You can save your fun for another time, but it’s in your best interests to surrender for the moment,”, feeling her other arm wrap around his waist before setting her palm to touch his stomach and like her fingertips piercing his side he felt a burning sensation from her hand.

“I can handle the heat Cinders gonna have to do better than that.”

“How about that?”, while the burning seemed to get hotter he followed her gaze after she had her chin on his injured shoulder to see a pair of metal doors open. First coming out was an elderly woman sleeping in her wheelchair, then a beaten Junior who was pushing the chair and lastly Emerald who held weapon aimed at his head.

“Now you understand the stakes, your move Roman.”

Looking at the situation, he could try to fire at Emerald but she’d killed Junior before the shot reached her and even if she dodged instead the Mercury kid would take out Junior’s mother. And....the heat from Cinder’s slender fingertips was starting to settle in as he could feel himself sweating with a stinging pain.

“Sigh....Junior and his mother leave first and you got it.”, Cinder glared at his hand to see he was slowly taking pressure off Melodic’s trigger. She nodded towards Emerald for her to lower her weapon before pushing Junior to make him start walking while pushing his mother’s chair.

He kept moving until he stopped next to Roman and Cinder whose hands were still on him, “I fucked up Roman...”

“We both fucked up, but I’m sinking with my ship. Take my car, don’t think I’m gonna need it anymore.”

Junior nodded and started to pass him as Roman flipped his cane in his hand to have the handle to Mercury, “Take care of’em alright?”, addressing Junior as he listened to his footsteps and the wheels of the chair.

Once Mercury took Melodic away from him Cinder took her hands off Roman to stand in front of him while he glanced behind to see Junior gently put his mother in the car first before he started the engine and backed out of the building.

“Why don’t we move this to a proper place?”

\-----

“God will you just drop it?!”

“Are these used, is a fairly reasonable question that I feel needs to be answered. I mean seriously, why do you have a pair of handcuffs on hand Emmy?”, Roman waved his hands up reminding her of the silver handcuffs keeping them together.

They were going down a long dark corridor with Cinder walking a bit further in front while it was Emerald, Roman and then Mercury following behind her. Though with the last question Emerald spun around and was about to shut him up but he continued first, “Seeing you up close like this, these cuffs might look good on you Emmy.”

Which made her even more annoyed but looking over Roman’s shoulder to see Mercury covering his mouth while laughing as he was enjoying seeing her being messed with was pissing her off. “Emerald,” hearing her chilling voice she nearly jumped before turning around to face Cinder’s piercing gaze.

“Enough fooling around.”

“I can’t be the only one annoyed by this idiot!”, pointing and clearly trying to pass the blame which Mercury was cracking up.

“Cheap provocation is easily ignored if you choose to do so, but since you let him play you for a reaction it shows you’re still lacking.”

“But!”

“But, nothing.”, her cold words rang through the corridor before she turned back and resumed walking ahead. “Might want to get move on Emmy. Less you like getting chewed out like that,” taking another stab at her and she clenched her fists seeming ready to turn around and punch him...but instead she took a breath before walking again.

Seeing his fun was over Roman accepted the silence and continued to walk until Cinder pushed a pair of doors open to reveal a large room that seemed empty, except for the White Fang members who were waiting around.

“For a supposed group of evil bent on thrusting the world in darkness, this place is severely underwhelming.”, walking around past Emerald and Cinder to glance around what he figured was the underground level for some warehouse. While he was taking in the situation he could hear the murmurs of questions from the White Fang members but he ignored as he went to the wall where there appeared to be some workbench with a map of Vale above it.

“Evil lair check, goons check, map check, hot woman check, pair of idiots check, all you’re missing is a joker.”

Turning back to face them as he unlocked the cuffs to spin them with his finger, “But am I right in thinking that I’m the one filling that role love?”, before tossing them back to Emerald who caught some unwanted attention from the White Fang who were staring without knowing the context.

“You’re already understanding your place, that’s a good sign.”

He shrugged as he raised his arms, “When you know your opponent has got the better hand the only reasonable choice is to fold. Besides, being under a woman’s thumb isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things.”

“I still don’t see why we need this buffoon.”, hearing a masculine voice he turned his attention for a tall man in a dark suit and red hair come out of the shadows with a larger man next to him and a more detailed White Fang mask than the others.

“Well excuse me Mr. dark and edgy,  but I was invited to this party just like you.”

“Tch...still being confident in this situation...”

Roman sat against the workbench as Cinder and company had walked to stand in front of him, “Without confidence you’re only half a person, want me to help make you whole Emmy?”

Hearing the click as Emerald was about to raise her weapon but Mercury stopped her for him to point her to Cinder who was glaring and she sunk back. “Well seeing that the funs over, what’s the plan sweetheart?”

“The plan, is that you will replenish the dust that you destroyed at the docks.”

“Just that?  What am I supposed to do after?”

Sauntering over to him to touch his cheek as he felt her chilling fingertips with a hint of fire embedded in them, “You don’t have to know, you just need to listen to me and do what I say. Understand my dear Roman?”

Even though her beautiful face was this close he couldn’t help but see the evil monster shining in her eyes. Though there was nothing he could do in his situation except deal with it, “Of course, my queen. Is there anything else you’d like me to do your majesty?”

They stared at each other but she smiled and from that he assumed she’d get off on people obeying her every whim, “It’s about time Roman Torchwick become known to the public don’t you think? I want all eyes in Vale on you, but how that happens I leave to you.”

Removing her hand as she turned around to walk away to the exit with Emerald and Mercury following her, “I expect the right results from you, don’t fail me.”, were her last words before the doors closed behind them and he noticed the red haired man had left but the large man who he figured was his second in command had stayed.

“I’m guessing you’re the Lieutenant then my big friend? How many units do we have on hand?”

“Spread across Vale we should have roughly a thousand, our main force is still coming from Mistral and we’ve spread a small percentage to Vacuo.”

Turning around to look at the map of Vale before pulling it down to start marking every dust and drug store he’d remembered. The White Fang now less tense with Cinder and company gone, had walked up to the workbench and waited while Roman was still marking. “Get me three hundred members and order them to dress like hoodlums, preferably hoodies and remind them to hide their tails if they’ve got’em.”

“What are we doing Mr. Torchwick?”

“We’re giving Vale a wake up call.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

[Seriously Roman, what’s happening? You’re scaring us...]

[Just fucking do what I say and Neo.....I’m sorry, but I have to break my promise.], hearing his tense voice before he hung up. Melanie looked towards Neo whose expression showed grave worry but Miltia brought them back. “Come on, he told us what to do so we have to do it.”

Leaving the cart and dropping what they had the trio ran out of the supermarket to make a beeline for Roman’s apartment.

By the time they made it there was already a black car waiting with one of Junior’s men who was actively looking around while keeping his hand in his jacket to where they could see the handle from a gun. He noticed and nodded to them as they went into the apartment.

It felt a bit strange being in the apartment knowing that something was wrong with Roman and they still haven’t heard from Junior yet either, “Melanie, help Neo pack her clothes. I’ll grab Roman’s laptop and stuff.”

Nodding to that, Miltia went over to the left side of the apartment which was basically Roman’s workplace while Melanie and Neo went into the bedroom to pull out a large black duffel bag before they grabbed Neo’s clothes and her personal items.

Once they packed everything Melanie slung the bag over her shoulder when Neo went to the bed and got down to pull something out from under, “What is it Neo?”

But she got her answer when Neo pulled out a long heavy metal case labeled [Last Resort] and when she opened the case it revealed Roman’s stash of assault rifles, handguns and explosives. Understanding the point of the case she nodded and Neo locked the case back up when they heard Miltia calling for them.

Melanie left the bedroom and Neo stopped suddenly before running to the nightstand to grab the camera Roman stole at the park then left the apartment with the twins. Once they got down two matching black cars had come and Melanie, Miltia, and Neo were gestured to get into separate cars.

It was a relatively short but quiet and tense drive as the cars took different routes but ultimately parked in front of a large apartment complex. The girls went in and quickly made their way up the stairs to get to the fourth floor as there was five doors but they went into for the third door. It revealed that the middle three was all connected with the center as the living room and dining room.

“Go ahead and put Roman’s weapon case behind the couch Neo, I’ll go put your stuff in my room and you can sleep in my bed for now.”, Melanie gestured but Neo shook her head and pointed to the couch.

Miltia came back from putting Roman’s laptop and journals on the dinner table, “Are you sure?”

Nod. They looked at her but it’s what she wanted.

Melanie put her stuff in her room while Miltia went into the kitchen to cook up something and Neo sat down on the couch to look at the blank TV. Neo took the camera out of her pocket and turned it on to sift through the photos.

She skipped the ones that only had her and looked at the ones with her and Roman together and the ones she was able to take of Roman when she had the camera at the time. She couldn’t help but worry after the phone call...especially since he said he had to break his promise...so she knew that he had no choice in the matter...

But Neo perked her up head when she heard Melanie who was coming out of her room, “Junior? Where are you? Something’s going on with Roman and he said you got involved...”

Miltia hearing her as well had turned off the stove and came to the center of the room while Neo looked over the couch as Melanie finished her call, “Junior said to meet him upstairs...he didn’t sound too good.”

Neo left the camera on the couch before they left through the front door and took the stairs to go one more floor then knocked on the center door first. It opened as they were greeted by four of Junior’s henchmen with assault rifles aimed at them, but once they realized who it was they lowered and stepped out of the way for them to come in and lock the door behind them.

Their attention first drew to Walter who was caring for the elderly woman in a wheelchair that the twins recognized as Junior’s mother, “Over here.”, but turned to where Junior called for them to notice a woman tending to his wounds.

“What happened?!”

“Oi, not so loud Melanie...”, pointing to his mother who was slightly bothered by her shout and nodded. “But that bitch, is what happened...”

Miltia looked around to see other henchmen keeping watch on the windows, “Who..?”

“Neo knows who, you remember the fire chick right?”

Registering with the keyword fire, Neo nodded and pulled out her scroll to type out her question, [Where’s Roman?]

Junior grabbed his shot and downed it before answering, “She’s got him....made him trade our lives.”

Hearing that, she was shocked and almost dashed for the door, “STOP!”

Turning around to Junior, “...There’s nothing you can do right now that won’t make things worse Neo.”

[But he’s in danger!]

“She wanted him for a reason Neo so she won’t kill him, and Roman knows how to make himself useful whether they see it or not.”

[Still....]

“...I know you want to help Roman but the best thing you can do right now is just stay put and wait for him to come to you or us. Understand? Just get some sleep....it’ll probably be a long day tomorrow of figuring out what the hell is happening.”

The twins wanted to ask him more but he winced when the female doctor touched his side and felt it best to do what he said. They left with a worried Neo who was itching to go and find Roman but she knew Junior was right....

Though when they left they were alarmed by the sudden screams and sounds of gunfire that in an instant had spread across the cold night of Vale.... _Roman...please be safe...._

\------

Neo was preparing coffee as the twins who were comfortable in their own place were lazing around in their underwear as they were half asleep with their heads on the dinner table. “....couldn’t sleep sis?”

“How can I sleep fine with all the screaming and shooting, it’s like there was a gang war all night....I thought the Syndicate took care of all the gangs before it was gone though....”

While they were whining Neo brought them their own cups of coffee while she made herself a cup of hot chocolate since she still didn’t like the taste of coffee that much. “How’d you sleep Little Neo?”

Pulling out her scroll to show them, [I slept just fine.]

“Heavy sleeper...lucky...”, drowning out their fatigue with some hot coffee when Miltia scroll rang..

“Hello? What is it Junior? Channel 3?”, she looked to Melanie and she went to grab the remote to turn on the TV and changed it to channel 3 which was a news channel.

“The Vale Police Department suggests that the citizens of Vale avoid leaving their homes at night and to make sure you are not alone if you choose to walk out. You’re probably thinking that’s what they always say, but after last night’s events we can safely say you should listen.”

The girls sat on the couch to together with their drinks to watch the news, “Last night was truly terrifying as dozens of jewelry stores, general stores, drug stores, dust shops and more were the victims of vicious robbery by hooded figures as seen here.”

The anchorwoman raised her hand to her left as six security camera feeds showing recorded video had revealed the crimes. In each one showed two to three figures covered with hoodies had blitzed for the register and viciously beat the clerk or clerks before robbing various items that seemed to hold no real value, “And this is barely a fraction of the violence that was recorded last night. At face value many can see this is completely random acts of violence but the Vale Police says otherwise. Even though he has appeared in only one of the recorded videos the police has reason to believe this was all his doing.”

The six feeds had combined together to show one big feed instead which showed the same act of violence in a dust shop except...“Once a child enforcer and...

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“Ruby!”, Yang waving for her sister and Weiss who were coming towards them.

“Yang! I got your message, what happened?”

“Look!”, pointing her to the big screen that was on the wall of the cafeteria and other than Blake they were shocked to see it.

“Once a child enforcer for the group known as the Syndicate four years ago and was the prime suspect for the massacre of the kingpin known as Sol and his close associates but was released due to lack of evidence. The police believe all of these attack belong to the individual known as...”

While they were barely paying attention to the anchorwoman speaking, team RWBY and all the other students in the cafeteria watched in horror as two criminals viciously beat down the dust shop clerk. Until another figure wearing a white coat with a black bowler hat and a red band came through the entrance wielding a shotgun.

“Oh my god...”, Ruby turned recognizing Jaune’s voice to see him and Pyrrha come in as their attention immediately turned to the TV.

The hooded figures dragged the clerk and held him up as the man in white looked at him before pressing the shotgun to the clerk’s chest....

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Glynda had her arms crossed as she tapped her fingers against her body while waiting for the elevator to come to finally come to a stop.

When it opened she first saw the back of Ozpin’s chair as she quickly walked up to his desk, “Ozpin...”, he turned slightly to glance at her, “...I know.”

She looked to watch his screen as it continued, “Roman Torchwick.”, as the anchorwoman said his name she winced when Roman pulled the trigger for a splatter of blood to shoot out the clerk’s back before the hooded ones let go and the body dropped to the ground.

Then they went to go back to stealing the dust in bags as Ozpin noticed that Roman was still standing in place while looking at the man he’d just kill for no reason. He was motionless for a few seconds before Ozpin saw that he took a deep breath....

The video had zoomed in on Roman as he looked up for the camera to get a clear shot of his face while he was smoking his cigar. He was expressionless until he showed a satisfied smile when he pulled out a playing card to show it to the camera, revealing it was the Joker.

Though he brought the card close to his cigar for it to catch on fire and he turned it over as he tossed it at the camera. But the card didn’t burn to a crisp, but rather burned off a layer as it stuck on. The words joker were still in place while the image had changed to show a laughing jack o’lantern which Ozpin recognized was Roman’s emblem...

He turned off the screen before he faced Glynda, “...I understand that he was likely forced to do this Ozpin...but no one will forgive him for something like that...”

“I know Glynda....but if no one forgives him then he’ll be driven to join their side completely. Qrow has yet to contact us and now Roman has agreed to work with us even though his life is on the line while he’s now in the belly of the beast.”

“I understand....I’ll do my best to ensure we have a constant contact with him..”, telling him before she pulled out a clipboard-sized scroll.

Ozpin turned his chair and turned the screens back on for the left one to show a freeze frame of Roman staring down at the corpse, the right one had showed his emblem, and the middle one showed the close up of Roman’s expressionless face. “To protect what we love....sacrifices must be made and the sins we make must be carried to the grave.”


	13. Roman

After a long night Roman was taken to a rather sketchy looking apartment but he didn’t even care about where he was. He undid his coat to toss it to a chair before crashing onto the couch, then putting his hat over his face to get some shut eye.

And while he was able to sleep a few peacefully quiet hours he was slightly awoken by the sound of the door being opened followed by the clacks of heels that were growing closer to him before stopping.

Pulling his hat down to see a grinning Cinder, “Much as I love seeing your beautiful smile first thing I wake up dear, I’ve done my job and I’ve been doing it for more than a couple of hours last night. Even I need some quality rest to look as good as I always do, so good night.”

Covering his face again but he could still feel her eyes on him while he was trying to make himself fall asleep again. Though he gave up once he heard the door opening again to hear another pair of heels and metallic footsteps coming in, “You know you’re famous now Torchy?”

Suddenly he felt a light weight on his chest then saw Cinder sat on him before she laid her arms across the couch and crossed her legs as she looked at the TV when Mercury changed to the news channel.

“The police believe all of these attack belong to the individual known as Roman Torchwick.”

They watched the murder play out, “Even though you’re a douchebag....nice touch with the Joker card.”

“Especially the smile.”, glancing back to Cinder who sounded oddly pleased saying that but he wrote it off as her weird side. “You wanted eyes on me, can’t think of anything else that’ll get me more attention than being a remorseless killer.”

“Now, would you kindly get off me before I do something inappropriate in front of the children?”, she didn’t even look as she kept her eyes on the TV since they showed more videos of the brutality last night. “But it’s more pleasing to be on top.”

Mercury backed away with an expression that had ‘Too much information’ written on it as Roman probably thought something similar. Looking past the sexy woman exterior, it’d be sleeping with something close to a praying mantis and Roman preferred having a head after the deed. Though when he noticed Emerald who had a, “Learned something important,’ expression it made him wonder if the green thief had a little crush on their employer.

“Well then, if you insist on wearing me out till I faint then at least let me clean up a loose end.”, after a few seconds Cinder finally got off him so he could get up. He was about to grab his coat and hat but remembered he was known now.

Looking around the room he grabbed a pair of black shades on the table and a red baseball cap while he kept to his dark slacks and black undershirt. As he headed for the door, “Ahem.”

His hand already on the doorknob, “Well I didn’t want to bother you three to let me do something so troublesome but if you really don’t trust me, then would one of you kindly come with me?”

“Emerald, go with him.”

Her expression quickly changed to annoyed and anger but she kept it to herself, “..I’ll get changed then.”

“It’ll be quick Emmy, we’ll even go for breakfast if you’re hungry.”

It was a rather long walk since Roman just found out they didn’t have a car or any sort of transportation and he didn’t want to draw attention by breaking into and hot wiring a nearby car.

Compared to her rather short top she wore a denim jacket while having on a brown wig, he’d question why she’d need a disguise but remembered seeing them at Beacon in different uniforms.

They turned left down an alley as he could see his apartment at the end on the other side of the street, “So what’s your story Jade?”

“And why would that matter to you?”

“Cause unlike you sweetie, I actually would like to know if I’m working with a competent individual that has a working brain instead of babysitting a three year old in a seventeen year old stripper’s body.”

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe another time, but how about a different question? What makes you so special that she keeps you around?”

As they were about to reach the end of the alley Emerald smiled and instead of saying she showed it. She watched as he suddenly stopped in front of nothing, but to him and to her he stopped to see a dead Neo on the ground.

Though Emerald wasn’t able to react when Roman spun to grab her by the neck and slam her against the wall which broke her concentration for the fake Neo to disappear. She could see his eyes were filled with fury and fire that felt like it was piercing through her, but she was only afraid when she suddenly felt a sharp object touch her crotch.

“You ever do that again, and I’ll you rip your ass open a new one then gut you like a fucking pig.”, looking down past his arm she could see the switchblade he held dangerously between her legs.

Emerald tried to keep up a strong front, but when Roman lifted the knife just a bit to cut the middle of her pants he saw a crack in her guard, “Understand Sustrai?”

Eventually she nodded before he pulled the knife away and let go her neck to drop her to her feet, he glanced to her pants for her to cover her crotch since the knife had cut more than they both thought. Roman took out his lighter and pack to light a smoke first, “Come on, I’m sure I got a sewing kit up there. If not I got extra pants we can cut.”

To her dismay, he wrapped his arm around and walked across the street so he could take a quick look in both directions to notice there wasn’t any police....yet.

She found it eerily quiet as they ascended up the stairs, no voices, no other footsteps except theirs. But Roman’s next words dispelled the nervousness, “I acquired this place from the late landlord so no one else lives here.”

Emerald figured the way he put the emphasis on ‘acquired’ meant he killed the landlord and cleaned out the other residents along with them. Once they got in she saw the place as a mess but Roman saw it as the twins and Neo cleaning out what they could which made him feel a bit relieved.

He went straight to his desk and looked through the drawers for a bit until he pulled out a small box. “Take off your pants.”

She took a step back from as she reached for a knife on the table, “You want me to fix them or would you rather have my clothes touch your body?”

She was still wary but eventually gave in and stripped off her cut pants before tossing them to Roman. “That’s what I thought.”

“While I’m fixing this, go into my closet and feel around the back wall for a button. When something opens tell me.”, pointing her to his bedroom while he passed her to sit at the dinner table.

She would have spoken up about not taking orders from him but felt she didn’t have much ground to stand on when she was pantless in his home. So she listened and headed into his bedroom, but rather than head for the closet she looked around trying to see what he had.

She wandered over to where there was what appeared to be another work desk in the corner next to the windows but instead of files and paperwork it had pieces and parts from dismantled guns, handles, and small knives. Glancing out the room to see Roman still busy sewing her pants and she couldn’t see him as tinkerer given his personality but she understood everyone had hobbies.

Even the books on the desks were more manuals or instructions guides to build or dismantle, but the one that made her question how safe she was, was picking up a book about human anatomy. There were multiple markings with notes measuring how lethal a hit to this spot, how much force it takes to break this one bone and even one noting how many seconds of strangulation before getting bloodshot eyes on pages that had either a male body, female body, or just a skeleton. “What the fuck....”

“While we’re both thieves and that makes snooping fair game, I’d like you to at least do what I tell you to do first Emmy.”, she turned, expecting him to be standing behind her but she saw he was still addressing her from the dinner table.

Even though she knew Mercury gave Roman’s cane to Cinder she had to suspect there was working weapons hidden here and if the notes in that human anatomy book said anything it was that the man in the next room is an efficient killer. “I’m getting to it.”

Making her way to open the closet door but brushed aside his clothing to run her hands on the back wall. It took her awhile before she was on her knees to feel the small square before pushing it, then suddenly the wall opened up to reveal a rather strange looking device. “Roman?”

He finished up as she called his name but he had a stabbing feeling in his gut and walked over to his work desk to push some files off a police scanner. Flipping the switch on to just hear static at first before turning the knob slowly until he was able to hear clearly.

“Strike Force 1, ETA?”

“Three minutes sir.”

Recognizing that as a SWAT team coming likely to his place, he walked into his bedroom to see Emerald preoccupied looking at the opened compartment. “While I can say your ass looks great, you should really put your pants back on Emmy.”

She turned with a hint of red in her face before he tossed her pants to her, “Cops are on the way, get a backpack and pack my books.”

“...You need those notes?”, walking out of the closet and walked past Roman to put her pants on behind him so he wouldn’t look before complying with his orders.

He stepped into the closet and prepped what appeared to be a bomb with numerous fire dust crystals attached to it, “It’s good to look back and you might even pick up on new methods while looking at the old ones. I’ll read some of them to you if you’re that interested.”

Once the green light on the bomb lit up to see it was primed he grabbed the detonator and a black hoodie when he turned back to Emerald who put on the backpack. Though he moved to the window to look down and see the SWAT van and multiple police cars come up.

“How many people can your little mind tricks work at a time?”

“If the image is small then I should be able to do at least five.”

“Good, then give yourself the image that you’re pregnant.”

She herself was displeased after Roman put the image of her being pregnant in her brain but she got the idea as they left the place and headed downstairs. But before they went all the way down, Roman lowered his shades to touch his eyes. Blinking a few times before putting his hood on then talked but coughed and repeated that a few times.

“I..cough..You...Cough....How do I sound now?”, Emerald hearing that his voice was completely different from his real one and was more high-pitched that fit a fifteen or sixteen year old. “Creepy...”

“Good.”, he put his left arm over her shoulder to bring her in close when he opened the door for them to be met with four SWAT members aiming their guns at them. They faked their surprised reactions as the officers confronted a hooded figure with a young brown woman with a large belly. “Hands up!”

“P-please man my girlfriend’s pregnant and her water just broke!”, putting effort into his acting skills while Emerald herself tried to put on the act and the officers were stumped.

“Take off your shades sir.”, one of the officers addressing Roman for him to tip his shades down to reveal crystal blue eyes instead of his natural green eyes, “Wrong eye color sir.”

“Then get’em outta here and get up there!”, the commanding officer gave the order and the two swat members on the left moved out of the way for Roman to help Emerald down the steps as they started walking away on the sidewalk when the SWAT team went in.

But Roman looked ahead to notice Ruby and her little band who was being led by a pissed off Kitty, “Four kids dead ahead, keep up the image.”, whispering to her as they were about to pass each other.

When they did, only Yang gave a passing glance but he heard their footsteps stop, “Hey yo-”

But before Blake could even address them, Roman had the detonator in his left hand so he held on to Emerald tight when he pressed the button. The ground shook violently as his apartment exploded from top to bottom which threw off surviving police officers and caused team RWBY to lose their footing and drop.

Then they quickly made their way away from the explosive disaster while everyone around them was still in shock. They kept their eyes open for police or any hunter-looking snoops hanging around before they headed into some restaurant and sat themselves in a booth.

When the waitress dropped by, Roman with his normal voice now took a very brief look at the menu and ordered the same thing for both of them. Emerald herself was now filled with more questions than answers after her little snooping.

Roman took a sip of his water when he noticed Emerald looking at him, “You’re probably wondering why the notes and why the apartment was rigged aren’t you Emmy?”

“Pretty sure anyone who saw either would be wondering why, so why?”

“Cause I’m a professional dear, and staying one requires maintenance.”

“That answers the first but it doesn’t quite answer the second.”

“There was enough fire dust in that thing to make sure even the bones of the boys in blue would be reduced to ashes, catch my drift?”

That spelled it out clearly for her, enough firepower to basically disintegrate everything in the blast radius...the easiest way to cover one’s tracks and ensure no evidence would be found to track him. But still...who’s sane enough to keep a bomb like that in the same room you’re sleeping in?

He saw the questioning look on her face and only smiled as she was surprised...”If someone tried to kill me in my sleep, it’d make sure they literally burn in hell with me.”, as he basically read her mind.

The waitress came back with medium sized dishes of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. Roman looked at the time on his scroll, “Call Spiky and tell him to get here in less than fifteen, there's still something that needs to be fixed.”

\-------

It took Mercury longer than fifteen minutes as he had trouble just finding the place but eventually he came to the restaurant and saw them. Roman had his arms spread across his side of the booth with his head laid back and covered with his hat while Emerald was busy doing a crossword puzzle while she was waiting.

“Hey, I’m here.”

“Hey,” Emerald responded lazily before pointing to Roman and then going back to her crossword puzzle. Roman let his hat fall to the table before he stretched his limbs and looked at the time, “Jesus kid, an hour really?”

“Not my fault the cops put up a bunch of blocks because of you, also Cinder wanted to see you soon Torchy.”

“Then text her I’m getting us some early christmas presents. Try and keep up.”, getting out of the booth after putting his hood and hat back on. The partners looked at each other but shrugged and followed Roman.

Where he took them didn’t take long but they were weirded out by the fact that he brought them to an impound lot that was barely ten blocks away from the Vale Police Department. “You got balls, I’ll give you that Torchy.”

“The boys in blue couldn’t find their own ass even if they had a map.”, walking up to the small structure with a single window. He knocked on the glass for the elderly man inside to finally turn his eyes to him, “Roman? The blues are looking for you.”

“Already know Rusty, I’m calling in my favors.”

“Must be serious, the best ones are in the back.”, Rusty responded before pushing a button and the gate to the lot opened. Roman stepped into the lot while Emerald and Mercury notice the old man take some pills and instantly fall asleep.

There was rows and rows of cars but Roman ignored them and continued to the back until they crossed a sign labeled Confiscated. “What kinda woman do you think Cinder is?”

It took them a second but they figured it out with the cars, “Boss lady is pretty flashy.”

“She likes things fast if I had to guess.”

Taking a look at the first cars but he didn’t see anything that matched his employer’s fiery personality. “Got about thirty minutes till Rusty’s shift is over, so in the meantime go ahead and take your pick.”

Waving them off as he went a bit deeper into the lot.

“...You know how to drive Mercury?”

“I crashed two cars and a bus once, does that count?”

“Let’s just pick a car or else he’ll give us shit about it.”

\------

Cinder herself looked over some information that the White Fang was able to find. Mainly about Roman’s recent dealings in the underworld and the few connections they were able to find on short notice.

Though she glanced to the photo of him together with the multi-colored girl called Neo, yet they weren’t able to dig up anything on her. Either no one really wanted to talk about her or it was like she didn’t exist.

She knew she could make Roman obey if she took the ones closest to him but if she had Neo then he’d serve without question and would ensure his loyalty to a certain extent. Roman was a wild card that needed to be chained down to be of use...at least that’s what she thought about the reckless criminal.

As she was looking over the files on her desk she noticed her scroll to see a text message, it was from an unknown number but the content made her know who it was in a second. [Hey sweetheart, got a surprise for you.]

While she didn’t care much for how he addressed her she still saw him as reaching with these names. It showed his confidence was as big as a Goliath’s stomach and she had to admit she had a soft spot for confident men and women...because it was always more satisfying to break them.

She put the files on Roman in a desk and locked it with a key she put away in her shorts before leaving the room to head downstairs. Though when she opened the front door she was indeed a bit surprised to see Roman leaning on what appeared to be a crimson Ferrari.

“Ah Cinder darling, since the kids already got theirs, I’ve brought your present. Think of it as my token of appreciation for being taken under your wing.”

Looking to her right to see Mercury waving his hand out of a silver charger with a black stripe and Emerald who waved while sat in the opened back of a green outdoor jeep. Stepping forward she ran her hand on the hood of the car finding it in pristine condition....least this told her he still had his connections when it came to pricy materials.

“I didn’t know what kinda car you’d like so I just chose one that matched what I think about you.”

Looking at him, “And that would be?”

“Fast, dangerous, would likely kill me when I make a mistake. Am I wrong?”

She chuckled before she touched the right side mirror and her fingertips glowed as she burned the initials CF into the mirror, “You know me so well, but I can’t reward you yet when you have work to do. I’ve heard you met an arms dealer a day or two ago.”

Juggling his memory but he remembered, “Ah, Iris? Shall I put an order for more dust?”

“And more weapons for the White Fang, they’ll need them.”

“I’m fairly sure she’s probably still here so I’ll go meet her.”, as he turned to walk away Cinder grabbed his wrist and when he looked at her she had a somewhat chilling smiling, “I’ll go with you, you drive. Mercury, Emerald, you two await instructions at Beacon.”

The pair nodded and drove albeit off towards where the transports were, while Roman shrugged giving a ‘if you insist’ attitude before getting into the driver's seat and she got in the passenger seat.

Starring the the car he drove in the direction towards the docks but he was caught off-guard by Cinder, “After this we’ll come back and have dinner together.”

“Ah....I’m afraid I’d like to decline , it would hurt me if your children thought I was taking their mother away from them.”

“I insist, and I’m interested in Roman Torchwick’s story.”

“My story isn’t worth your time, nor does it really matter.”

She placed her hand on his while it was on the stick shift and he could a warm sensation from it, “I decide what’s worth my time and what matters to me.”

He didn’t know how things were gonna play out tonight but he knew no matter what happens...he wasn’t gonna like it.


	14. Torchwick

After a short drive to the docks Roman and Cinder made their way into the warehouse to see the light on in the office, and the recovering Iris doesn’t yet know how unfortunate this visit will be.

Looking through the window Roman could see Iris was asleep with her head on her desk and she now had a cast on the arm he messed up. Trying the doorknob to find it lock, he was about to pull out a tool to pick it when he felt Cinder’s arm brush his right side to grab the knob and melt from her touch.

Glancing behind to look at the fiery temptress, “Remind me to stay on your good side.”, and her silence was more terrifying because she was smiling before he gestured her in. Even though Cinder didn’t even try to hide her presence with the sound of her heels Iris was still asleep, but Roman noticed the large beer bottle next to the sleeping dealer.

Cinder herself sat on a nearby desk while Roman pulled a chair to sit himself in front of Iris’ desk before lighting a smoke. Taking a glance at the black pistol on the desk to pick it up and check to see that it was indeed loaded. He held it close to her left ear as he aimed the pistol at the window and fired for a loud bang to ring.

Iris’ reaction to the close gunshot made her cover her ear in pain from the ringing when she fell out of her chair, “What the fuck?!” Pulling herself up while still holding her ear as her heart sunk a bit when she looked at Roman who was smiling with a smoking gun in his hand. “Miss me darling?”

After pulling herself back into her chair she recollected herself to respond calmly seeing how dealing with Roman with attitude wasn’t in her favor, especially when he had a gun. “You just gave me the order...I haven’t gotten to it yet.”

“Then that’s disappointing to hear knowing you’re a dealer, but let's put that order on hold and work on something that’s more pressing.”

He pointed the pistol to his left and fired two shots which frightened Iris more than it should but she glanced where he shot to see he fired at a map of Atlas, specifically he fired at the Atlesian Armory and the Schnee Family Corporation. “The first order is twenty-five percent of the weapons in Atlas’ black market cause we all know they they could make thousands in a mere few hours. The second one is five-hundred kilos of rainbow dust from the Schnee Dust Company’s storage.”

Before evening opening her mouth she remembered how this played out last time and held back but she glanced over to the silent Cinder, “This cause of your girlfriend over there..?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say since I have to go home with her.”, Roman felt it and pulled his head back as he saw a fast object pass by where his head once was. Iris and him looked to the board to see a flaming pen before glancing back to Cinder who was spinning a pencil while she gave Roman an innocent smile.

“Excuse the Missus, she’s mad cause I forgot our anniversary. But moving on, I want these two orders in three days.”

She looked through the paperwork on her desk, “I...I can’t do all that even if you gave me two weeks...”

Roman put the gun back on the table before he grabbed Iris’ collar and pulled her to him over her desk, “Then you better get started huh? You got three days, if you can’t deliver when I come then you and the boys are gonna have a nice long stay in Purgatory.”

Her eyes widen once she heard the name Purgatory, “O-o-okay I got it! I’ll have it in three days, I swear on my brother’s grave!”

Accepting her answer he let her go for her to fall back into her chair before she picked up her scroll and started making calls as Roman and Cinder left her office. On the way to her car, “Purgatory?”

“You know how every kingdom has an underworld dear? Usually each one has something that makes them well known and for Vale it's Purgatory.”, opening the car door for her before getting into the driver seat.

As he was about to start the car, “And what happens in Purgatory?”, making him stop and lay back into his seat.

He opened his door so he could smoke without annoying Cinder, “Purgatory is where the poor and unlucky go to fight to the inhumane death for money while the rich pay to watch.”

“Sounds barbaric and pointless seeing how that can be done anywhere else.”

“What makes Purgatory different is that the audience can up the ante for the match or for one of the fighters. Such as twenty-five thousand more to the pile of fighter one if they can injure fighter two in this way, even richer fools will pay for them to do things in a specific order.”

“It sounds like you’ve already seen your fair share of it. What’s the worst you’ve seen?”

“It’s not the worst I’ve seen but this one was rather interesting. I’ll just give the important details, it was two girls, one older and one younger. Big surprise that the older one won, but to get her prize she had to follow three orders, one after the other to do it.”

“And?”, seeming more interested since she kept her eyes on Roman.

“The first order was to cut the younger girl’s legs off with a machete that was thrown into the arena, the second was to rape her with a baseball bat that was also thrown into the arena, and the third was to bite her tongue off with her teeth. Wanna know the twist?”

Roman was actually weirded out by how completely focused her attention was on him but he took her silence to continue, “They were sisters, and the prize while also the one who put them in there was the future husband for whoever won.”

Finishing his smoke before he tossed it out before closing his door then turning on the engine, “People do crazy things to get what they want.”

He drove out the docks and onto the streets to head back to the shady apartment and he wanted to treat it as just hearing things but he knew he heard clearly what she said, “....Amazing...”

\------

A quick and quiet drive back to the apartment and Cinder sat herself at the dinner table while Roman went to the kitchen to cook up something with whatever the hell he could actually find in the cabinets and refrigerator.

They ate peacefully though he could still feel Cinder’s stare until they finished and he moved to sit on the right side of the couch to turn on the TV to a horror movie. The stare continued as she sat herself on the other side of the couch and eventually he gave in because it was just way too uncomfortable coming from this woman, “Sigh....where do I start?”

“Start where you think you began and go from there.”

“Where I began huh....pretty shitty start then if I think about it.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**Twelve years ago**

A setting sun shines over the lights of Vale as a street festival fills the air with fun and laughter. “Hungry babe?”, a man asking the girl who nodded.

Though when he reached for his wallet in his back pocket he felt nothing, “What?”, searching threw the rest of his pockets but found nothing and started looking around. Scanning the crowds until he saw a red haired child tossing up a wallet that was similar to his, “Hey!”

Running after him and pushing the people out of his path until he reached the middle of a plaza with the fountain at its center and the red haired kid gone. “Fucking thief...”,  grumbling as he left back to his girlfriend while a figure that was sat on the bench lowered the newspaper he was holding to peek out.

After making sure the man was gone the red child gave the newspaper back to the homeless man who covered himself with it and went back to sleep while he took out the wallet, “Another broke chump.”

Pulling only a few notes of lien out of the wallet to see the rest was either bad lottery tickets and his ID, “Tch...worthless,” before tossing the wallet behind him and into the fountain. Stretching his limbs before he started scanning the crowds for another pick....

But the second he did he locked eyes with a patrolling female officer with her partner, “Hold it Roman!”, and they started pushing through the crowds to get to him but he already leapt from the bench and headed down a different street.

“Stop Torchwick!”, hearing the male officer scream his name as he veered right to jump through an opened window to land in a living room. Glancing to his left to see an elderly man holding a beer, “Quit running Roman!”, then the man pointed to his left towards his backdoor which Roman flipped a note of lien to him as left out the back.

Popping out into an alleyway before making another dash out to mix in with another crowd as he heard the officers still chasing after him. They continued the chase until the male officer was able to put a hand on his shoulder but Roman moved his hand to slap the butt of a young woman, “Oh!”

Ducking his head when the woman swung her hand back and slapped the male officer, “Pervert!”, giving him enough time to dash ahead.

“Crap, you alright?”

“I’m fine, come on!”, running in the same direction until the crowd thinned out a bit but when they looked around he was nowhere to be seen. “Damnit Roman...”

“How the hell is this kid so damn slippery?”

They continued to scan the crowd until the female officer recognized someone and ran up to them. It was a silver haired woman in her mid-twenties drinking a beer while sat on what she hoped was an empty decorative coffin. “Mary!”

It took her a second to respond before turning to the cop, “Oh hey Julie! Want one?”

“I’m working right now, did you see Roman here at all?”

“Roman? Can’t say I have, he’s probably running home by now if you’re after him.”

“Sigh....well if you do see him tell him to either come to the station or call me okay?”

Patting his partner’s shoulder, “Come on Jewels, he couldn’t have left the streets just yet.”

As they were leaving Mary raised her beer, “Good luck! But you guys know if Roman doesn’t wanna be found you’ll never find him!”

Drinking her beer as she watched and waited until they were out of sight...she tapped the head end of the coffin, “They’re gone honey.”, after a few seconds the top half cracked open with Roman carefully peeking out to make sure.

She chuckled, “I told you they were gone honey.”, making extra sure that Julie and her partner were gone did he finally push the top half open as he sat up straight, “Well sorry for not trusting your half drunken words Mary.”

“Aw, but I need a few in me to talk to you when I love you so much!”, and to his annoyance was pulled into a hug that made him smell a variety of alcohol off her. “Ugh, let go of me already.”

“Hey Torchwick.”

Turning away from the drunk woman’s chest since she wouldn’t let go to see a large man that appeared to be lizard faunus with his scales was carrying a heavy looking keg, “Bastion’s looking for you downstairs.”

“What’s Bastion want with me?”

“You should know by now Torchwick, no questions and just do, so go before you piss him off.”, walking off with the keg and several other humans who worked together to carry similar kegs.

Acknowledging that warning, he eventually got Mary to let go so he could finally get out of the coffin before she kissed then waved him off as he walked into a direction leading away from the festival.

After leaving the festival scene the streets away from it were covered in shadows and embraced the quiet until he began hearing the sounds of heavy machinery. Approaching a large building as the sounds inside grew louder the closer he got until he pushed the doors open to see the working factory.

Though the workers paid Roman no mind as he walked through the large room before he stepped onto an elevator then hitting the button for the heavy yellow gates to close down. He leaned against the back and pulled out his scroll to play a horror game as the elevator descended.

Waiting a little over thirty minutes before the elevator finally stopped and the gates opened up to reveal what was known by criminals and scumbags alike as Tartarus, otherwise known as Vale’s Black Market.

Want bootleg movies or CDs? Want fake art? Cheap furniture? Guns? Girls? Boys? Slaves? You get it all here and unlike others his age, Roman was barely phased by anything that was going on since he’s already made more business trips here than he’d like.

Ignoring the calls from the vendors and the girls who happened to spot him from the windows of the brothel until he came to a small office looking building. Coming into an empty reception area but he moved forward to the door and knocked, “It’s Roman.”

“It’s open.”

Opening the door to step inside and stand in front of the wooden desk. He looked at the large man whose most defining feature was that the skin from his mouth was gone, thus showing his teeth in it’s cracked and silver glory. “You looking for me Bastion?”

“I got something that needs to be checked out.”

“....Why ask for me then, my old man is the one that works for you.”

Bastion slammed his fist on the desk and Roman saw that the desk had broke by how it was slanted now, “Cause your old man’s gambling problem and that harlot of his has made him a fucking idiot.”

Seeing his annoyance Roman figured it best to draw away from his old man, “What’s the something?”

“A new group called Syndicate moved in and they’re finally extending their reach, but we don’t know anything about the shot-caller running this little band. Rumor has it though that there's a new guy that's been strutting his shit here and that he’s the son of the Syndicate’s leader, but even if he’s not he’s showing disrespect to us with his bullshit. So I want you check him out, see what kind of douchebag this guy is.”, tossing a picture to Roman for him to catch and see a young man likely in his early twenties.

He opened a drawer to pulled out a black semi-auto pistol before putting a suppressor on it, “He’s at Elena’s club, Londos. I’ll deal with him personally once we know more, but if you see him as a danger to us then deal with him on the spot.”, putting it on the table and pushing to Roman for him to grab and hid it in his shorts.

He left the office and walked a bit while avoiding curious eyes and the eyes of slave traders since young kids were often used as messengers so it wasn’t uncommon for one to just completely disappear while a trader’s pockets were filled.

And while Bastion gave him a gun as if it was normal, Roman hasn’t killed anyone and has only injured them to the point they couldn’t fight back. He figured he’d kill someone at some point given how his life is going....but he knew once he killed someone he couldn’t go back after staining his hands.

After a few more minutes of walking did he come upon a door with a line to the side and a bouncer dealing with the people. But when he approached the door he was stopped by a young bouncer who he didn’t recognize, “Woah there kid, isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isn’t it time for you to run back to mama?”, giving a sharp and quick response that stunned the bouncer but the other one who was dealing with the line had come to quickly pull his co-worker away from Roman.

“S-sorry about that Roman, this guy is just a newbie. You can go right in.”, gesturing him to go before Roman walked past them to the door.

“The hells the matter with you? Why’d you stop him?”

“What are you getting on my case for? He’s a kid.”

“Cause that kid works for Bastion, and Elena’s gonna fry my ass if you piss him off by pissing off his people.”

Ignoring their conversation he entered to descend down the steps as he begun to hear the music before evening seeing the double doors with a purple light seeping through the cracks. Before he even pushed the door he just shook his head in annoyance. “Sigh...this sucks..”

He especially hated coming here since the smell of; booze, sweat, makeup, cheap cologne and the mess people leave if they're high enough to have sex in there had all just mixed together to make something offensive to his senses.

Pushing the doors open had enveloped him in the purple light as the doors closed behind him. His hearing was assaulted by the blaring music and screaming of the clubbers but he at least covered his mouth and nose with his hand to reduce the smell and taste in the air as he quickly pushed passed others to reach for the stairs.

_Should be easier seeing the prick from above._

Roman made his way to where there was a clear enough spot at the railing where he could sit down with his legs through them and look down at the club. He heard murmurs around him that were about him so he made sure he had a tight grip on the pistol’s handle while he pulled out the picture.

He continued to scan the crowds until he was able to match the face with a man in a booth with his friends and some of the club’s girls.

_He looks even more like an asshole in person._

“I thought I smelled a rat.”, suddenly he felt a weight on him as slender white skin arms wrapped around his neck. Though he could tell who it was since the perfume was way more distinct to help separate it from the rest of the smell.

“I thought you hated touching rats Elena.”, glancing upwards to see a blonde haired woman in her late twenties looking down at him with crystal blue eyes. “Good thing you’re my favorite rat Roman. Here for Bastion?”

Looking away from the blonde to keep his attention back on his mark, “What gave it away?”

She rested her chin on his left shoulder so she could match where he was looking while she was holding on to him, “You always make it a point to let me know you hate the smell of my club so I know you wouldn’t come here of your own accord Roman.”

“....What do you know about him?”, pointing out the man for Elena.

Staring at the young man who was cheering with his friends while noticing the clear intention of groping the girls when they were more drunk then they should have been, “What do I get in return?”

“...I’ll treat you later....”

“Hmph, can you be anymore vague?...Though I know that’s as good of an answer I’m gonna get outta you.”

She pulled out her scroll and held it in front of Roman so they could look together, “My girls told me his name is Sol, and he’s part of that new group Syndicate.”

“What kind of person is he?”, listening to him she flipped through the information to show some pictures taken of Sol. “He’s got cash and he enjoys spending it. Even though he’s come by only a few times he’s spent more than a couple tens of thousands on drinks for the entire club and several thousands on some extended time with my more high-class girls.”

“His seemingly bottomless wealth and his arrogant attitude put him at odds with me since I got suspicious but he’s better than he looks.”

“What, he got you to sleep with him?”

Tapping the side of his head because of his quick assumption, “No idiot. He’s convinced more than a few of my girls to have me let him off while he brought in some suit who gave me a few deals that I’d be an idiot to refuse....and I’m not that loose.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”, staring away from the screen and away from her.

“...Did you fight with your father again Roman?”

“I’d rather not talk about that failure of a human, what were the deals they gave?”, doing his best to stray away from the subject and Elena felt that she shouldn’t push it.

“Syndicate has already taken over the stores and businesses that supply everything I need to run my club and offered to supply me for free as long as this place was a safe haven and meeting place for them.”

“So he can talk and back it up....anything else?”

“He’s bold, he’s already tried to recruit new members from some of the other gangs, that includes Bastion’s crew too. Looks like he's leaving Roman.”

Pulling her hand away since it was obstructing his vision to see Sol and two of his buddies get out of the booth and heading for the exit, “Any idea where hes going?”

“One of my girls who’s a little too attached to Sol told me he likes to scope out for new blood from Purgatory since they always get fresh meat.”

“Then get off me so I can leave now.”, but instead of listening to him she squeezed him more as she nuzzled against his neck. “Few more minutes.”

\------

He was able to catch up with Sol as they went into a courthouse looking building that appeared to be some kind of field hospital with girls and boys, ranging from the ages of ten to sixteen with all kinds of injuries and even missing limbs.

_This place never changes..._

Roman had only been to Purgatory twice before today, but even just the first visit made him recognize it was better off slitting your wrists then having to fight here. The only thing you needed to know about Purgatory was that money is the drug that people will spill blood for again and again.

He descended the grand steps at the back of the courthouse to hear the sounds of cheering and when he finally made it to the bottom he saw the large arena with every seat filled. Though his attention was drawn to the fight.

It was a Asian boy of about thirteen years old against two older boys and one older girl, but it looked like he smashed one of the older boys’ head with a rock since he was dead on the ground.

Even though it was two against the one the boy and girl were afraid of him seeing how their ally’s blood was splattered on his chest. “Kill them kid!”

“Rip their throats out!”

“Break their legs!”

And from the sound of the cheering the entire arena was rooting for the bloody Asian teen even though he appeared to be exhausted. But he beckoned them when the older boy pulled out a knife and Roman saw him smile.

The boy rushed at him but when he got close enough the teen raised his hand for the knife to pierce his hand but kicked the boy in the groin for him to let go of the knife. He pulled the knife from his hand to slice the boy's throat wide open and pulled him closer to repeatedly stab his gut before finishing him off by stabbing him in the head.

He ripped a piece of his shirt to wrap his hand like a bandage when he looked back to the older girl who had tears in her eyes with a terrified expression. She turned and was going to run to the closed door when he pulled the knife out of the dead boy’s skull and threw it to stab her right thigh.

“Someone help me!”, she cried out but the cheers of strip her and rape by the viewers drowned her out.

Though as he stood over her one voice drowned everyone out, “$500,000!”

And the teen looked where a fire axe was dropped to the ground of the arena, while Roman saw it was Sol who tossed the axe as he was on the railing. He went and grabbed the axe when he locked eyes with the crying girl, “P-please, you don’t have to do this!”

He looked up to Sol who was grinning like a fool, “Split her head open and its yours.”

Roman stared at the kid seeing what he’d do and it looked like he hesitated but then something snapped in his mind as he viciously committed the deed. Seeing Sol laugh pretty much solidified what kind of person he was to him and he started to leave when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Torchwick right?”, he instinctively pulled out the gun and pushed it under his arm until it touched the chest of who he saw was Sol.

“Hold it.”, Sol waved to his two buddies who were about to pull out their guns, “Nice heat kid, who’d you get it from?”

“I’d have to be an idiot to answer that.”

“Good thing you’re not huh? You’re pretty good kid, I knew someone was watching but I didn’t expect a kid to be scoping me. But why don’t we lower that gun and talk like men huh?”

Keeping a tight grip on the trigger, “I gotta get home, got chores to do.”

“Is that right?...Well then I got an offer for you kid, I’m always looking for good talents and it seems that skinless Bastion and Elena are quite fond of you.”

“...I follow a contract, so you’re shit outta luck.”

He laughed as Roman saw some fire in his eyes, “Then all I gotta do, is make sure that contract is voided huh? Where do you live kid?”

Figuring he’d know by tomorrow morning so he answered the truth, “North of the commercial district, on the edge of Forever Fall.”

“Forever Fall? I’ll see you tonight so decide by then Roman, but take this as payment for your work.”, letting go of Roman once he passed him his wallet and he checked the contents to see it was filled while he kept his aim on the smiling Sol when he retreated up the stairs.

\-------

Making his way out of the city through the exit from the commercial district to head for his home. It was a two story house on a small hill with just clear red plains separating it from the city with the Forever Fall woods behind it...

Seeing the lights on meant one thing. He opened the door and closed it behind him before he tried to head straight for the stairs, “Roman, get in here.”, stopping once his hand reached the banister and he sighed.

Walking back into the living room to just see the shape of his father’s head at the couch, “What?”

“Don’t you what me you brat, get over here where I can see you.”

He walked around the couch and turned to face his father while he glanced to the kitchen to see the woman that Bastion calls a harlot and is his father's ‘girlfriend’ wave at him. “Where the hell were you?”

Roman’s eyes strayed from his father towards the window to look at the view of the city, “Out doing your job, what else?”

His father got up from the couch and lifted him by his collar, “You better drop that tone of yours before you get hurt Roman.”

“Why should I? You’re gonna hit me either way.”, and giving his words truth his father slapped him hard enough for his lower jaw to hurt as he felt some blood in mouth. “See? Told yah loser.”

Roman shoved his hand in his pocket to pull out the wallet he got from Sol, “This is what you want right? Then let me go already you deadbeat.”

His father grabbed the wallet and checked the contents but he wasn’t satisfied, “This all you got? You’re fucking worthless, just like your mother.”, letting go to drop Roman on the glass table that broke and he could feel some of the glass shards pierce his back.

“Fucking asshole...”, but his father kicked him in the stomach when he heard that, “Get the hell out of my sight you little shit.”

Feeling the pain in his back but he turned over and pushed himself up to eventually limp away to the stairs after spitting the blood in his mouth in a bucket next to the stairs. He put that bucket there for that purpose, and after only a few years the interior of the bucket is stained with blood.

Dragging himself along the wall to finally get to his room that only had a mattress on the floor, a mirror closet door, and a broken desk that had some of the books he’d read in his spare time if he couldn’t leave the house.

If anything the only thing that made him grateful was that he had a personal bathroom for his room, less reasons to go downstairs the better since he usually left through his window anyway.

Roman took out the suppressed gun and put it in the second holster that he’d strapped under his desk while he already had a holstered gun from Bastion since he told him to take care of the woman if she came at him.

Pulling off his shirt first to toss it in the corner before he grabbed a handheld mirror from one of the drawers in his desk to sitting down facing away from the mirror. Holding up the handheld mirror he could see his back from the reflection and slowly but carefully began to take out the shards of glass stuck in his back.

“You’ve gotten pretty good at that haven’t you little Romeo?”

Looking away from the mirror to his doorway to see the woman, long black hair with amber eyes and wearing a red see-through nightgown that showed off assets, “I thought I told you to stay out of my room Nina.”

Going back to working on the deeper shards, “And makes you think I’d listen?”, she came inside and got on her knees next to him to breath down his neck while she helped pull out the larger shards of glass.

“I told you not to touch me.”

Pulling out the last shard of glass she could see she then turned to Roman who was looking away as she felt the rest of his body, “What if I don’t care?”

“...Get the fuck away from me.”, getting away from her to sit on his bed but she pushed him down on his bed, “Honey is too high-strung tonight since he lost everything yesterday, so....entertain me tonight like last time and we’ll both feel good kay?”

Feeling her knee between his legs he slowly reached for the switchblade under his pillow while she was about to kiss him....

“Nina! Get down here.”, both of them turning to the door.

“Looks like he wants me.”, feeling relieved for once to hear his father’s voice but was surprised when she still kissed him and he could feel her tongue in his mouth before she pulled back, “I’ll come back for you later Romeo.”

He spit out whatever saliva from her to the side as she got out and left the room.

Slamming his door shut before he went into his bathroom and gargled the water from the sink and repeated until he got out the taste of her. He turned on the water in the tub and waited until it was filled, then he slowly got himself in.

Then laying down submerged underwater he shut his eyes and began to count to one hundred...

_1....2.....3..._

_25....26...27..._

_43.....44.......45.._

_66.....67....68..._

_89....thud..._

Even though it was muffled he opened his eyes to the sound of a loud thud and broke through the water to where he could hear multiple voices coming from downstairs. He recognized his father and Nina’s...but there were three more voices.

Getting out the tub he quietly made it to his desk and pulled the suppressed pistol and the automatic pistol Bastion gave him a while ago. He aimed with the auto pistol in his right hand while he had the suppressed pistol lower in his left when he slowly made it to the stairs.

Looking down he could see two people in black standing while he could see his father gripping his bloody side on the ground and Nina crying in pain with a gunshot to her left leg and right shoulder.

He was about to fire on them but pulled back when a third figure came in.

“He’s not lying, safe is empty.”

“Tch....Duke isn’t gonna like this.”

“What do we we do with these two?”

The woman of the group pointing out to the injure two and the leader, “Just kill'em.”, but he was caught off-guard when bullets were fired and the woman next to him was suddenly filled with holes.

He turned aiming his gun but the shooter shot at his hand and exploded the gun in his hand before taking three more shots to the chest. Roman came down after dropping the automatic pistol and aiming the suppressed pistol with his dominant right hand.

Roman was still in the hallway as he noticed the woman reaching her hand out to the left which made him shoot the wall on his left and empty the clip. He heard a thud before reloading the pistol and entering the room to see the third assailant grabbing at his neck to stop the blood while he still had two gunshot wounds in his chest.

“What the fuck you standing around for Roman?! Help me!”

Seeing his father injured and even Nina begging for his help....

_...make sure that contract is voided..._

He aimed for the still breathing assailants and put a bullet through each one of their heads, “I told you to help me you little shit!”, and he fired one shot at his father’s left leg who screamed in pain.

Roman went to the cabinet and started grabbing the liquor inside to begin pouring it all over the house until there wasn’t anymore. “R-romeo, what are you doing?!”

“I’m gonna kill you when I get my hands on you, you worthless fuck!”

About to leave but turned to his father, “...I tried to be a good son, but without mom who I don’t even fucking know if they exist...you couldn’t at least give me one good memory.”

“What the fuck do you know?!”

“I know when I was old enough to understand how to lie, cheat and steal that I replaced you for Bastion. I know that I had to deal with the scum of Remnant cause you couldn’t handle it! And you wanna know what I know now Old man?!”

“You’re dead without me Roman!”

“I know....I know I’m gonna survive.”, aiming the pistol at the ground and fired for a spark to ignite the floor as he ran out of the house.

“Roman!"

“You need me you little shit!”

He ran away from the burning house but stopped as he turned to look at it while still hearing his father and Nina’s cries....

“This your doing Torchwick?”, glancing behind him to see Sol, his two buddies and the Asian teen who was patched up.

“Yeah...I took care of my contract....that offer still on the table?”, and his friends and the boy were slightly stunned while Sol was smiling when Roman turned to face them with a killer smile on his face.

“Hahaha! I knew I liked you kid!”, walking up to Roman before giving his hand and he took it.

“Since I got you both today you’ll work together with Junior over there, but welcome to the crew Roman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter is gonna continue the flashback and it may take me longer than usual to finish.  
> But thanks for reading folks  
> SC out~


	15. Killer, Thief, Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How far are you willing to go for someone you love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, very sorry this took way longer than It should have. Just real life punching in the face the entire time but back to the chapter.
> 
> This will probably the longest chapter I've done purely because I hate drawn out flashbacks and chose to just do it all in long chapter. But next one will be back to normal time.

**Three years later (Roman Age: 10)**

Leaning against the railing of his apartment complex to look at the city at night while smoking a cigarette when a familiar figure came slumping along to lean on the railing next to him. He took out his pack and propped one up but he waved him off so he pointed to the bag at his feet.

He got out a beer and opened it while Roman smoked quietly to see some of his injures, “You good Junior?”

After drinking his beer for a bit, “I’m good.”

“Who did it?”

“Krystal’s boyfriend got the drop on me.”

“You’d think drug dealers were smarter. Wanna pay’em a visit?”

“Yeah.”

Junior went to his place while Roman went to his since they were set up to live next to each other. Once they came out Junior carried a metal bat that had spikes coming out of the top end and Roman came out with a katana in a decorative white sheath.

After they left the complex they broke into and hotwired a car a few blocks away before making their way to their destination. After hearing a ping Roman pulled out his scroll to check the message he got that said it was from Sol, [Come to the office an hour from now.]

“That Sol?”

“Sigh...yeah. We got work even though it’s our day off, so step on it.”, listening to him and Junior hit the gas.

It didn’t take them long to reach the place that Junior remembered and instead of the elevator they went up the stairs. Though while they were making their way down the hallway Roman felt like he’d been here before or at least seen this building before even though nothing was coming up in his mind....

“Ready?”, they stopped at a wooden door with the number 39 on it.

Junior knocked while Roman raised his katana to cover the peephole. After a few seconds....

With a low voice, “Who’s there?”, Roman pulled back as Junior kicked the door open and they heard the hinges break off.

But before the man could even respond, Junior swung to hear a crack when he batted the man’s hand. He was about to scream but Roman unsheath his katana and held directly at his mouth, “Scream and I’ll give you a big ole smile.”

Hearing movement he pulled away his katana before kicking the man’s head to knock him unconscious and gestured Junior to watch him.

Roman walked through the living room and walked into the bedroom to find it empty but he could hear something....so he pulled out a knife and tossed it at the TV to break it and turn off so there was complete silence....

Except now he could hear very faint breathing coming from under the bed, “Here Kitty kitty....”, tapping the ground with his katana while circling to the side of the bed. “Last chance dear Krystal, come out now before I do something you’ll regret.”

He could still hear breathing but he guessed she was too afraid to move, so he flipped the katana in his hand and stabbed the left side of his bed to hear a loud yelp. “Wanna come out now or do we have to play until I hit the mole sweetie?”

“...I-i’ll c-come out...”, it was so barely audible it was downright pathetic but he heard her none the less and pulled Yami out of the bed as she cautiously crawled out of the bed.

Krystal, a yellow haired cat faunus who looked from Roman to Junior who was pissed off by the sight of her. “W-wait! I’m sorry for what he did Junior, he didn’t know-”, but she stopped mid-sentence when Roman backhanded her face.

“When did I say you could talk?”, his tone harsh and completely different from his teasing tone early and it shut her up quick.

Sheathing Yami before he sat on the bed while he pointed Krystal to stand in front of him, “You calling them?”

“Yeah I’m calling them, go ahead and deal with bone head.”, and with that Krystal held to the hem of her dress as she heard a loud thwack and a squish sound...Slowly turning around to look and she saw Junior grabbing a water bottle to pour it over his bloody spiked bat before looking at her boyfriend’s smashed skull.

Roman pulled out his scroll and held the number three until the speed-dial kicked in and waited, [....Hello, thank you for calling Gemini. How can we be of service?]

He looked past the shaking Krystal to see Junior raise one hand with all fingers then one more, [I’d like to order a six foot long sub and can I place a possible order for a....], raising Yami while it was still sheath to touch Krystal’s foot all the way up to her head while her expression was getting worse with fear, [...5’6 inch hot dog?]

[Understood, we have your address via GPS on your scroll and your order will be delivered in five minutes. Thank you again for choosing Gemini and hope you choose us again for your precious needs.]

Putting his scroll away once the call ended and let Yami lean against his leg while he took out a smoke, “Now sweet, stupid Krystal...enlighten me on what’s stopping me from letting Junior bash your skull in or me decapitating you and paying Gemini not just for your little bf there but for you too.”

“J-junior I’m so sorry about Mark, I didn’t expect him to be here tonight or to attack you!”

Roman looked to Junior to get some response and he just shrugged, “He’s dead, I got nothing against her.”

“Well that’s Junior but I’ve got a question for you Krystal, there a reason you're dodging your business calls?”

“U-um...i-it’s complicated?”

Standing back up to toss his smoke out the open bedroom window, “Make it uncomplicated.”

She looked conflicted but her fear for her life elevated when she noticed Roman’s silent smile, “...U-ummmm do you know a-about that terrorist group White Fang?”

Roman remembered a certain incident where Sol had inadvertently scheduled a business deal in a place members of the White Fang were hiding out, “Now what would that joke of a terrorist group that runs with their tails between their legs every time the cops show up have to do with you?”

“I-i have a brother that’s part of them and he asked me for some money...”

“And now that he’s asked you for money, he’s also asked for help such as knowing secluded places to meet and likely even asked to borrow your old piece of shit rust bucket out front so you’re afraid the Fangs will come to you when it’s most inconvenient.”

She blinked and seemed genuinely surprised, “How...”

“Obviously if you bring up family then we know the baggage they brought with them is gonna stick on you. If you just told us this then we wouldn’t have had to make this house call now would we?”

She nodded vigorously in agreement when there was a knock at the door, “There's no point in knocking when the doors broken but come in.”

Junior waved them in and it was three men who looked like regular gangsters except they all had the same tattoo on their right shoulder, ‘Gemini’. One carried a bucket and mop, the second carried two black body bag and metal case and the last one came in with gloves, a plastic container and a tool box.

The one with gloves looked at the dead body, then Krystal than towards Junior and Roman, “Just the 6 foot long?”

“Yes, but I’ll pay for both since you came with two bags.”, pulling out his wallet and handing the gangster a stack of lien when they came to get it. He checked the stack and nodded before gesturing them to get to work.

The cat faunus was slightly worried how quickly they worked to put Mark’s body in the bag, wipe up the blood and even had tools to replace the hinges on the door to fix it, though feeling a tap to her leg she turned back to Roman, “Forget about the White Fang and get back to work to make sure I don’t have to come here again, kay darling?”

By the time they finished Junior had finished eating the sandwich that he apparently made while waiting, “Always a pleasure doing business, have a goodnight Mr. Torchwick.”, the main one saying goodbye as the group left.

Picking up their weapons they headed for the front door with Krystal cautiously seeing them out, “Remember what I said?”

“Forget about the White Fang and get back to work!”

“Good, and try to find a smarter boyfriend, or next time he’ll make us kill him too.”, giving her a smile that sent a chill down her spine when they left.

Walking down the hallway, “You really love scaring them don’t you?”

“If we showed consideration all the time we’d be pushovers, fear works better than loyalty.”

“You know someday it’s gonna happen to us right?”

“Then we’ll just give whoever it is hell when they do.”

“Roman?”, hearing a familiar female voice made him and Junior look behind to see a tall brunette in shorts and a black tank top but Roman looked at her face while Junior looked at the pistol she was holding.

Recognizing the woman from his childhood when his old man was still an asshole but alive, “Julie....No wonder this place looked familiar...”

Even though she was confused after seeing them she snapped back once she payed attention to the katana and the spike bat, “Don’t move Roman! Tell your friend and you to drop your weapons!”

Junior whispered, “Do we take her?”

“No, it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth so just....run”, and they dashed for the end of the hallway.

“Hey, stop!”, she yelled and tried to aim but couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger when she caught a glimpse of a scar on the back of Roman’s lower neck.  Instead she ran after when Junior jumped through the window first and Roman followed to see they landed on the fire escape.

“Roman! Get back here!”, she yelled when she got out of the window but they had already descended but the ladder was broken at the bottom so they jumped over to grab on the other side of the railing before jumping off onto a dumpster.

Quickly getting into the car they stole and drove off while Roman saw in the rearview mirror Julie gave up the chase but looked like she was calling someone. They relaxed once they made a big enough distance and Junior started driving for the office when his scroll vibrated, keeping his attention on the road he pulled it out and tossed it to Roman.

[Forget the office, come to the new building still in construction on Dole street.]

Roman tapped the screen on the center console for it to display a map, “Turn right here, we’re going somewhere else.”

“Got it.”, making a right turn and driving past honking cars. Though Roman relaxed in his seat he looked out of the corner of his eye to see pink and brown before locking eyes with the girl sitting on the steps to an apartment whose clothes looked ragged and she seemed to have wounds....but even after they passed her he looked at the right side mirror because he couldn’t stop looking at her.

“Roman? You still with me?”

Snapping back to reality, “Yeah, I’m good.”

He relaxed himself in his seat and shut his eyes to get a little bit of rest but the image of the girl popped into his head and he couldn’t shake her out of his thoughts..

_The hell is wrong with me...._

\-----

After a quick drive they parked the car a few blocks away and walked the rest of the way to the building to still see construction equipment meant for the next day. Though they ignore the  danger signs and entered through the front to see a large reception area with Sol and a few others standing with him in the only spot with the spotlights shining on it.

“Over here.”, he waved at them and they came closer for Roman to catch an assault rifle equipped with a bipod, a scope and a large suppressor that Sol threw to him. “Roman, go to the third floor and find a good vantage point, Junior stick with me while the deal goes down.”

Nodding to that Junior walked with Sol and the others to the center while Roman headed for the stairs to ascend for the third floor. Looking around there was still a lot of work to be done since he could still see steel beams above him and only some of the edges had railings.

Looking over the edge he could see over the entire reception area and he had clear view of his allies who waited patiently at the center. He scanned around till he found a couple of toolboxes that he stacked up next to the edge before setting the bipod up before looking down the scope that had a red tint lens to see the darker areas of the reception. He aimed the red laser sight attached to it at the table until Sol gave him a thumbs up when he saw his position before turning it off.

He flicked it to semi when he saw figures coming in from the front though he was a bit surprised to see what he figured was the leader, with six stereotypical tough looking bodyguards....and twin little girls with one wearing red and the other wearing white.

“Hah, took you long enough.”

“Hasn’t your mother ever taught you manners?”, the leader addressing Sol who had his feet up on the table. But he shrugged with a smile on his face, “I never bothered to listen to my old lady since she was already six feet under by the time I could walk. But we didn’t come to talk about our shitty past lives, we’ve got a problem Duke.”

“And what problem would that be?”

“How about the fact that you’re waving your dick in our faces because of your crazed assumption that the docks belong to you?”

“I don’t see how this is a problem since my shipments haven’t conflicted with the Syndicate’s control.”

Pulling his feet back before slamming his fist on the table, “It’s a problem when that shipment is carrying product that you’ve been dealing on our turf and you haven’t paid us the taxes for it.”

Roman waited patiently with his finger on the trigger while he kept his aim on Duke and the conversion was getting more heated. Though he shifted his aim to the one bodyguard behind the rest when he noticed he was reaching for something inside his jacket....and it looked Junior noticed him too as he was reaching behind his back.

“All you gotta do Duke, is pay us our share for letting you deal on our turf. I’ll even make it 60/40 since I’m so damn generous.”

“Hah! You really must of have been dropped as a kid. Besides I’m pretty sure I can get a better deal from the real boss of Syndicate if I had you as a bargaining chip.”, with a quick gesture he stepped back for his guards to get in front and aimed their guns at Sol and the others.

Roman aimed at the front most guard since they had the highest chance to hit Sol and waited till Sol raised his hands, “You shitheads never learn do you?”, and he kicked the table to topple as cover when Roman pulled the trigger to kill the first guard.

“Get him!”

Everyone on the ground floor had dispersed to hide behind equipment, heavy machinery or behind half finished pillars before blindly firing their guns at the opposing side. Though they took a few pots at where they thought Roman was so he had to duck and move a bit aways from his position.

He stopped and looked down the scope to see people fighting but he hesitated to fire since it might reveal himself again..... _What happened to the girls?...._ noticing he couldn’t find them on the ground floor.

But he did find Duke and immediately took the shot for it to get deflected by the girl in red. The girl in white tapped Duke’s arm and pointed up to where Roman was before he ordered two of his guards to fire up at him.

Roman ducked for cover until there was a pause that he assumed they were reloading and changed the setting to full-auto before unloading the clip on the two guards to one into a beehive and got the other in the leg.

But after the bullets did the sound slowly die down and was replaced with clicks, signifying empty guns. So the guards and Sol’s boys grabbed the fire axes, sledgehammers and other tools that could be used as weapons and turned it from a gun fight to a dirty brawl.

Sol himself charged into the fight and went for Duke to punch with spiked brass knuckles but was blocked when he brought out an extendable staff. Roman went and descended the stairs but stopped at the doorway of the first floor before checking to find only one bullet left in the magazine.

He peeked out from the doorway and slowly tried to line up his shot at Duke’s head even though Sol’s combat made difficult. But he kept it steady and was about to pull the trigger when all he was the aftermath of fire dust before noticing the girl in red with a burning dagger and the barrel of his rifle with a burned cut.

He kicked at her to jump away when he tossed up a wind dust crystal before pulling out Yami and slicing through it to send a wind blade at her. She ducked under and lunged at him but he blocked, “Isn’t it past your bedtime kid?”

Though as he was pushing her back he noticed in the reflection of a glass mirror behind her that the girl in white was rushing at him from behind. He turned the blade while switching hands to push her away as he swung wide with a 180 turn to send a wind blade at the girl in white for her to jump as she was about to plunge her dagger into Roman.

“Heads up!”, Roman ducked forward after hearing Junior before hearing the sound of his home run swing which the girl in white blocked but sent her flying back. But they didn’t get a chance to breath as they repositioned themselves to defend back to back when the twins went for an assault.

While Roman had difficulty keeping up with the dagger-wielding Red since his swings were slower with a longer weapon he made up for it by constantly switching his katana between his hands. And the girl in white fought cautiously since even though Junior was too slow to match her quick speed his heavy swings would have knocked her out in one hit if it connected.

Junior noticed quickly how he couldn’t match up but he recognized that she blocked with the dagger while going in for kicks against his legs and he glanced behind to Roman to see Red sticking with the dagger, “Roman, trade.”

He knocked White back before doing a back kick when Roman did a downward slice against Red to bring her weapon to the ground and receive Junior’s kick to the head. Roman dragged the katana through the concrete ground while moving under his partner’s kick before pulling it up for an upward slash against White.

Seeing an opening, Roman lunged forward to just barely cut the chest area of her dress before bringing it down for her to sidestep and the blade narrowly cutting her feet off. But when he did the blade got stuck in the ground and he let go when she attempted a strike at his hands.

Pulling out to throw a throwing knife for her to deflect but it was enough for him to toss a fire dust crystal in front of him and kick it. At first she thought he was stupid and it wouldn’t do anything until she saw a shine on his boots to see the bottom of them were made of metal, she raised her hands to guard as the crystal broke for a focused explosion at her.

“Melanie!”, the girl in red screamed and lost focus which gave Junior the opening to grab then throw her to slam into a wall.

The guards from both sides were down with heavy injures while Sol and Duke were still fighting but it was clear Duke had the upperhand with using his staff to keep his distance. Though a single gunshot broke the fighting as some blood splattered in Sol’s face...but Duke was the one that gripped his chest before dropping to the ground.

And Duke’s remaining guards were quickly dispatched with suppressed gunshots before Sol looked pissed while Roman, Junior and the twins looked at an elderly man in a black trench coat and fedora came into light. “I told you I could handle it, why are you here Locke?!!”

“Your father was worried, and by the looks of things he was right to be.”, he snapped his fingers for heavily tattooed gangsters to come from behind him and Roman recognized them as cleaners from Gemini.

After pulling his katana out of the ground and sheathing it, Roman grabbed the girl called Melanie and pulled yet he didn’t sense any resistance. Junior noticed the same thing as he pulled the girl in red to meet with Locke and Sol.

“What the hell are you two doing? Kill those fucking bitches!”, he yelled an order at them, but Locke raised his hand.

“No, this is your problem Sol. You let your emotions guide you and blinds you to worthwhile assets, can you girls tell me your name?”, he addressed the twins with a smile and a more light tone compared to when he was talking to Sol.

They stayed silent before Roman and Junior pushed them forward, “...Melanie Malachite...”

“...Miltiades Malachite...”

“Twin sisters, how lovely. Seeing as your employer is no longer with us, how would you like to work under us from now on?”

“The hell are you doing Locke? They worked for Duke, why would you ask them?!”

“Because they have talent, Junior and Roman are known to be brutal yet these girls’ speed was enough to keep them fighting.”

Sol looked to the two for something when Junior responded first, “Less work to find people.”

Then Roman, who just shrugged but Sol took that as his agreement with Locke. “Fucking....do whatever you want, I’m going home.”, and he turned to leave through the front while the cleaners were finishing things up.

Locke sighed seeing him off but turned back to the twins with a smile, “So, what do you say girls?”

Taking a look at each other and even though they fought each other they looked to Roman and Junior for something but they were indifferent. “Yes?”

“Wonderful, but seeing how there are still some things going on that need to be done I’d like you to two stay with these fine gentlemen and help them until you get your own assignments.”

The girls thought the two would say something in protest like how Sol reacted earlier, but they just nodded and Junior even handed his jacket to Melanie to cover up her ripped dress.

“Junior, Roman come to my office this weekend. There’s something I’d like to talk to you both about and do keep this a secret from Sol okay?”

\---------

After taking the spare car Locke had brought with him the group got take out before returning to their complex and started their dinner in Roman’s apartment. Roman and Junior were relaxed while they ate and talked bits about work while Melanie and Miltiades who accepted the shorter name of Miltia mentioned by Roman seemed a bit confused by where they were now when they were fighting each other not long ago.

“Um...Roman?”

Glancing up from his plate, “What skimpy?”

The twins said together, “Isn’t this weird?”

Shaking his head when he pointed to Junior to answer who looked annoyed at him for passing the buck, “Back there was strictly business, when Duke died so did our obligation to kill you.”

The girls tried asking again but Roman’s words quickly dispelled the illusion for them, “Don’t mix professional with personal, we’re off the clock so this is personal time, kay kiddies?”

The girls gave him an annoyed look when he treated them like kids even though they figured out he was only two years older than them but eventually they felt more relaxed after the late dinner. Junior was looking at some files at the dinner table and the girls were sat in front of the TV watching a movie while Roman was busy doing something on the couch.

Though Junior was too busy, the girls were interested since they noticed from the movement of his hand that he wasn’t writing but more like he was drawing...They crawled away from the TV to circle around the couch before looking over it to see he was indeed drawing, “What’cha drawing?”

Though the pencil didn’t stop and he didn’t answer as he kept drawing which made even Junior curious and stood with the girls to tilt their head when they eyed the drawing. But he stopped when Junior put a hand on his shoulder, “What are you doing Roman?”

“Do we need to get you some glasses Junny? Can’t you see I’m drawing?”

“Yeah yeah smartass, but who exactly are you drawing?”, pointing to his drawing which they were surprised by how detailed it was of a young girl with pink and brown hair and even the environment like the cars and the apartment steps around her was drawn in. “Is that your girlfriend?”, the girls looked with curious eyes but Roman chuckled.

“Going soft now Roman? You’re the last person I’d expect to have a crush on someone.”

“And I didn’t expect you to have crush on that scantily clad bartender from Elena’s club when we both what kinda people she spreads her legs open for.”

The twins gave Junior a rather disgusted look and he only crossed his arms while looking away but they could see he was a bit red which made them giggle and Roman laugh a bit. “Hah...it’s not a crush but..there's just something about her that I can’t get her off my mind...”

Shaking his head to throw the thought  out of his mind before he set the drawing and the pencils on the coffee table when he heard his scroll ring, “Can you answer that for me Melanie?”, while he went to his bookshelf to look through his books.

She nodded and grabbed his scroll from the desk, [Hello?], after a minute she came to hand it to Roman, “It’s Mr. Locke.”

Taking it from her, [You missed dinner Old Timer.]

[It’s a good thing I’ve already had my wife’s cooking then. It’s a bit sudden but I have a request for you Roman.]

[What is it?]

[There is someone that carries a heavy debt with the Syndicate but he is considered a close friend to the Head. He cannot bring himself to do it and he has an image to keep so he’s asked me to find someone willing to do it for him, respectfully mind you. Can you do it?]

[I can.]

[Good, I’m sending you the address. No need to inform me when you’re done, I know you won’t fail.]

Hanging up the phone and a few minutes later he got the text which just had the address and picture of the building he had to go to, “It’s a job?”

“Just for me.”, giving him the answer before going to his desk to pull from his drawer what was a ceremonial knife and Junior recognized it since the hitmen part of the Syndicate were ordered to use it on specific targets out of respect from the gang.

“Let the girls sleep in your place and don’t wait up for me.”, and while the twins saw Roman out Junior only watched as he felt something was gonna happen but he didn’t know what..

\------

If Roman was better at anything than stealing it was hiding his expressions and locking his heart away. And he knew he still had it because internally he was shocked when he saw the photo from the message and recognized it as where the girl was before but to the others he was completely normal before he left.

And she was on his mind the entire walk there when he noticed there was some broken glass on the sidewalk before seeing a broken window in the building.

He walked up the steps to find the door unlocked and peeked in, it looked like a two story house with the stairs right across from where he was and the decore suggested it was somewhat of a middle class household....well whatever decor that wasn’t destroyed or ripped apart.

_Looks like a tornado's been through here._

He carefully stepped in while making sure not to step on broken glass or step on broken vase shards until he stopped to lean against a wall before peering inside a living room. While the place was completely thrashed his attention was focused on the pink and brown haired girl with a bloody dress, holding a bloody knife, and standing over the bloody body of a dead man.

Though it looked like she was shaking and he slowly walked in while keeping a grip on the knife behind his back, “Bit messy for a hit don’t you think sweetheart?”

She was startled when she turned holding the knife in her hands, but looking at her expression and completely white eyes made him recognize the situation as a hit gone bad less and less and something worse. “Why don’t we put the knife down....”

But her grip tightened and she still looked shaken, so he spun the knife for her to see before holding it in a reverse grip, “...before you make me do something I’ll regret.”

....

“What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?”, trying to lighten the mood even though it wasn’t the best thing to do given the situation. She ran holding the knife aimed at him but he just used the blade to push it to the side and her to stumble while he made sure to keep distance.

_If she’s not a professional...what the hell happened?_

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**Present (Neo)**

While the twins went out doing something for Junior, Neo herself had laid down on the couch while drawing things she’d remembered. Though she was embarrassed that she’d ended up drawing Roman’s face since he was all she could think about...but he hasn’t contacted them yet and they haven’t found out something to know if he's even still alive...

_No no no! He’s alive...he’s okay..._

Brushing that thought away from her when she heard a knock at the door. She stood on her tiptoes in order to look through the peephole to recognize the man as Locke but Roman always called him Old Timer.

She opened the door for him and a young girl who peeked from behind him, “Hello Neo, is it just you today?”

Nodding.

“Ah, this is my granddaughter Mia, say hello Mia.”

She waved, “Hi.”, and Neo responded with a smile and a wave as well before gesturing them in while she went to go make tea. While Locke had thought to sit at the dinner table Mia noticed the TV and the console, “Grandpa can I play?”

“Oh, do you mind Neo?”, she poured him a cup of tea while gesturing her it was okay before sitting on the opposite side of the dinner table. “Thank you Neo. I heard from Junior and I’ll use some old favors people owe me to help, but you still haven’t heard from Roman?”

With just his name her expression and the air around her sunk, “I’m sorry, out of everyone you must be the most worried for him. It makes me glad that for someone as reckless as Roman, he has someone who loves him.”

She blushed when the word love was brought up and it made her look away from Locke who chuckled, “Haha, no need to be embarrassed for your feelings Neo. I’m certain Roman loves you as well but you know he does well not to show it.”

Finishing his tea and Neo offered more but he declined, “Though I didn’t come here just for that matter. I’ve learned Roman sustained a slight injure not long ago due to your night terrors.”

She felt a pain in her heart since when he said it since she remembered again, “I understand Roman’s choice to ignore his life for yours. That’s why I’m going to ask, how are you doing?”

Unlike the twins who didn’t understand much sign language she’d remembered Locke knew because his late wife was also a mute, _Everything was going okay and..._

“No no no, I’m asking how **you** are doing **Neo**? Are you happy? Are you in pain?”

Seeing genuine concern on his face got her thinking.... _I’m...There’s nothing I can wish more for when I’m with Roman, I’m happy to be with him....but all I feel now is like I’m hurting him and that I can’t do anything for him...I can’t even go help him when he’s in trouble right now..._

He studied her expression while he carefully read her hand signs to make sure he got the whole message, “Do you love Roman?”

_Yes._

Because she answered with zero hesitation he understood that her feelings were true and smiled, “Then trust in him. There’s nothing you can do to hurt him other than not trust him. Roman is smart and a survivor, he knows how to survive and he’ll survive to see you again.”, and while he said that Neo noticed he was looking at the handmade bracelet on his left wrist.

“Well, thank you for your hospitality Neo and remember to trust in the one you love okay? Mia, it's time to go home.”, picking up his fedora as Neo saw them out but he turned.

“By the way Neo, do you know the reason why Roman did what he did to destroy the Syndicate?”

_He told me it was for freedom._

“Freedom...of course he said that, as long as the Syndicate was alive we’d all would have been chained to hell. I know you didn’t start with him in the beginning but I’m glad you’re together with Roman...that reminds me, how exactly did you two meet? He’s never told me.”

Before Neo could answer Mia tugged on her grandpa’s coat, “Grandpa, you told auntie you’d stop doing that if they said no the first time.”

He chuckled at his granddaughter’s cute actions but acknowledged his promise, “Sorry Neo, but I’m sure it's something you both remember fondly. Have a good night.”

Mia waved bye while she walked away to the elevator with Locke and Neo watched them leave before looking out into the city to see the night lights...

_When we first met....how could I forget..._

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**Past (Neo Age: 7)**

_Stay away!_

Gripping the knife tightly in her hands she swung at the shadowy figure for their claws to just whisk it away when she tried to attack.

_W-why is this one so different...._

Glancing back to the other shadowy figure on the ground and remembering past ones were always violent and tried to hurt her...but even though the mere sight caused her fear she couldn’t feel any aggression or anything from this one.

Though what was more strange was that this shadowy figure was slowly becoming more detailed and what terrified her was it's teeth when it opened its mouth but there was no noise coming from it....

_Go away!_

She swung again and the shadow stepped away from her and the way it was acting made her see it more dangerous than the other. Like this monster was studying her....like it was waiting for the perfect moment to rip her with its claws...

_Stay calm Neo...just stay calm..._

She tried to keep her distance before she noticed it was stepping closer to the black goo from the other and she waited....until it stepped into it and looked like it was going to slip so she rushed to take it down which she thought was weird at first.

But Neo ignored it as she gripped her knife to stab through its claw for the black goo to spill on to her cheek. She thought it was a mistake since she was now close enough for it to bite her but it didn’t move and looked in pain...

 _Something's wrong...,_ and that’s when she noticed the rapid heartbeat while she was on it. She blinked once to instead see the red eyes on the shadow was green eyes looking up at her. Blinking two more had dispelled the shadow layer to reveal the orange haired boy she saw drive past her not long ago...

”H-hey...you’re eyes changed color..”

She was stunned as he referred to her right eye that changed from white to pink. Though her attention turned to her hand as she gripping the knife that was stabbed through his hand before she quickly pulled it out and he felt pain when she did as blood poured out from his hand.

Ripping off the a piece from the bottom of the back of her dress that wasn’t bloody to help bandage his hand even though it was quickly soaked with his own blood. “Heh...you’re pretty sharp you know?”

Seeing him try to lighten the mood but his pained expression showed him her concern but he started looking elsewhere as if he was lost, “That knife....had poison..?”, then suddenly he fell back and he was unconscious but when she checked his heart it was still beating but he had a fever.

Panicking for a few seconds until she realized what she had to do. She looked to where the dead body was and quickly turned on the stove to bring up a flame before grabbing a few bottles of alcohol and some rags to make them into molotov cocktails. She tossed them around the home to set the place on fire before returning to Roman and dragging him out by his shoulders.

Seeing nobody around she pulled him up to bring his arm over her shoulders to support him before she went to the one person she knew that could help. After walking a while she ended up in front of a tea shop and knocked on the door even though all the lights were out. She tried knocking again when nobody answered but ended up letting go of Roman for him to hit the ground rather hard.

Panicking when she thought she saw blood from his head before the sound of the door made her turn as she looked at an elderly woman who looked back at her once she put on her glasses, “Sigh...you’ve brought trouble again haven’t you little one.....bring him inside.”

Turning around to walk back while Neo picked him back up to have his arm over her shoulders before entering the tea shop and following the elderly woman down a flight of stairs in the back. Inside was something close to a small clinic and it mostly had beaten women or crying children with bruises who were comforted by a young man and woman who appeared to be nurses.

“Set him down here little one.”, she tapped a bed before looking through an old wooden desk next to it. Neo struggled a bit to put him on until the female nurse came by and helped her put Roman on the bed. She signed, _Thank you_

 _No problem little one, do you want to shower while I get you new clothes?_ , pointing to her bloody dress and even though the woman was very beautiful Neo couldn’t help feel sorry for her when she couldn’t take her eyes away from the visible scar on her neck. She learned from the elderly woman that she survived a rape that almost ended up a murder when her rapist slit her throat...

“Neo, are you paying attention? Go with Nico while I take care of this mess you’ve brought.”, the elderly woman ordered her while she looked at Roman’s bandaged hand first.

After a refreshing shower and dressing in the blue shorts and white tee that Nico brought for her she returned to the elderly woman who looked tired and stared at the sleeping Roman. “Where did you find this boy?”

_I...I found him while I was at the place..._

“You found a boy with a hole through his right hand and was inflicted with a poison I made that I’ve only given you to use for a job?”

Seeing how she couldn’t get out of it... _It happened again..._

“Sigh....if you don’t want to talk about **them** with me then you need to talk to someone, anyone that you trust to help you. Before this would only happen while you slept, but since they’ve started to make you hallucinate while you’re awake it can only get worse if you keep it to yourself.”

Neo felt bad from the woman’s rather stern tone but she sighed before patting her head, “Just...we’ll talk about this later, but for now, do you know who this is?”

Looking to Roman who was in a much better condition than when she brought him and shook her head. “This is Roman Torchwick, even if he’s a kid he’s one of the Syndicate’s rising enforcers. And if anyone catches wind that we helped him than we’ll no longer be considered neutral, so when he wakes up you take him far away from here you understand?”

Nod.

“Good, he probably doesn’t know sign language so use this.”, handing her a clipboard with some paper and a pen attached to it before she went to go see the patients she had left. So Neo sat on a stool next to the bed and for some reason she felt nervous just sitting there quietly waiting for him to wake up.

She spent the next few hours playing charades and card games with Nico and some of the children which the innocence from it cheered up the hurt women and some played along as well while the others were content with watching.

“Ugh....”, hearing a boy’s voice she turned and seemed more happy than she thought to see him awake. She gave the playing cards to Nico before grabbing the clipboard to return to his side while he kept blinking and rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. Though his look of confusion disappeared when his eyes met hers and he had a look of confidence instead with a charming smile, “Didn’t expect to fall for you this hard, sweetheart.”

Even though she knew he probably meant what happened back at the house...it still made her heart kick up a bit because of it and his smile added to the fuel. He tried to sit up but fell to his side when a sharp pain came back to his right hand and he saw it was patched up while Neo looked over him with a worried expression.

Though he breathed slowly till the pain had stopped before returning his attention back to her with the same confident expression with no hint of pain in his face, “Heh..sorry you had to see that.”

He carefully undid the bandage a bit to see and Neo had saw it as well, the outline of the knife wound was still there and it was like the surrounding skin was stretched before being sewn shut together leaving a very noticeable scar without something to cover it. He wrapped the bandage back up before turning back to see a rather guilty expression on her face. “Don’t worry about it cupcake....I know what happened at the house wasn’t intentional...at least that’s what I’d like to think, unless you like being on top?”

As young as he was, Roman was no stranger to sex but to Neo who was no stranger to the killing side of the underworld but was a stranger to the sex trade took a few seconds before what he meant registered through her brain to cause her to blush. In order to skip that question she quickly wrote on the clipboard before showing to him.

_Are you feeling okay?_

He tried moving his fingers and slowly moving his right hand even though he winced a bit from doing so but, “Better than I thought, but you didn’t look so good back there yourself shortstuff.”

 _I’m fine, see?_ , showing off a smile.

“Cute.”, was his response which made her happy while he continued to look around the place. “So, mind telling me where I am?”

“You’re in a safe haven for battered women and abused children that’s in danger because of your very presence.”, Roman looked past Neo to where the voice was coming from to see the elderly woman.

Roman sat up and moved to at least have his legs hanging off the bed, “Old Sage Miridan, thought you died in Last Hope’s massacre.”

“Lucky Sol can’t aim for shit when the target is right in front of him.”, pulling her shirt to the side to reveal a healed gunshot wound dangerously close to where the heart was.

“Guess I should thank you for patching me up Miri?”, raising his hand.

“You can pay me back by leaving and covering every track possible that you’ve made here.”

“Hah, fear finally catching up to you old lady?”

“I’ve got nothing to fear for my own life, but I have to fear for those I care for when there's a rare chance this haven will get dragged into the battlefield. Especially since the Syndicate’s done it’s work to shut down every small gang and organization to leave only the big worst three.”

Finally getting off the bed and stretching his limbs, “Well don’t worry about your little party here, I have nothing to gain from the deaths of beaten women and a bunch of crying kids. Nor does anyone have a real reason to track me...least not yet.”

“.....Even if what you’re saying is true and don’t think I actually believe you. I still want you to get out since you can walk on your own two feet.”, dismissing him as Neo saw Nico come back with a fresh pair of clothes that was likely intended for Roman.

“Well if I can’t ever come back here, can I take her?”, pointing to Neo who he gave a wink to causing her to get red and tried to write something while Nico looked like they were giggling. Though Miridan put her hand to her temple as if she had a headache from it all, “Just get out of here Torchwick.”

Roman shrugged at her response and looked to Neo, “Mind walking me home cutie?”

She was hesitant since she didn’t know much even though she had to admit he was on her mind when he drove by the first time....until Nico pushed her to him and gave her the brightest smile she’d ever seen on the woman. _Go little one, he likes you, it’ll be a nice_.

After Roman changed into the clothes provided by Nico the pair walked out and on the streets. It was quiet since it was now the dead of night with only the street lights on. “Now that I’ve got you for myself, mind if I ask a little about you? For starters your name?”

Since she didn’t have anything on her to write or to type she used hand signs to try and tell him before he pulled out his scroll and handed it to her, “Type it out for me.”, and she carefully took the scroll and started typing when she could feel him get close to her.

[Neopolitan.]

“Neopolitan huh? Mind if i call you Neo then? It’s short and cute, just like you.”, and Neo didn’t know whether to be happy or offended since it was a both a compliment and a stab at her height....so she was both, she was happy and slightly offended.

[...I like it.]

While they walked towards Roman’s apartment they talked about miscellaneous topics since Roman figured she didn’t trust him that much yet for anything deep. But he learned mainly about her being born mute and her favorite thing to eat was ice cream which made him wonder if that was attributed to her hair but figured it was coincidence.

Even though it was just small talk Neo enjoyed herself more than she thought and she’d like being with someone closer to her age. Though she stopped herself when they reached the front of the apartment complex, “Thanks for walking me sweetheart.”, showing his charming smile and she didn’t know exactly why but she liked the ring of his voice.

When she tried to give the scroll back he pushed it back to her, “You don’t have one yourself do you? Keep it, I know my number so I’ll text you later.”

Nervous about the sudden gift but instead of typing it out and showing him the message she mouthed the words, “Thank you Roman.”, before he waved her off as she left to disappear into the darkness of Vale.

He looked at his hand to take off the bandage to see the scar before tossing the bandage in the trash as it didn’t hurt as much to move his hand anymore, “Neo huh...”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**Two Years Later (Roman Age: 12)**

With a dim light shining over his desk Roman was inspecting schematics of multiple weapons and there was numerous gun parts lying around him while he was in his real apartment.

He was too busy to even answer the door but eventually he heard it open though he wasn’t worried once they spoke. “So this is your own place huh? Sol would be annoyed if he knew you were hiding this.”

Picking up the barrel of a sniper rifle to look through it, “Pray tell how you found it then Junior?”

Junior pulled a chair to sit in front of the balcony while he was peeling the oranges he’s brought. “Locke told me.”

“Old Timer’s too good at this stuff, but how’s it working under new management.

“It's less field work and I’m mostly building my connections for the info business. How’s it under Sol? Heard he’s starting to lose it.”

“He’s gotten paranoid ever since he almost got killed while he was with a girl in a place that even I don’t know about. I should jump ship, but the pay is good enough to deal with his paranoia bullshit.”

Junior ate half the orange after tossing the other half to him. “So, what’s up with you and that girl in the living room?”

Glancing behind him to see a sleeping Neo on the couch in the living room. “What about her?”

“I heard from the twins that you’ve been seeing each other for nearly two years ever since she **stabbed your fucking hand.** But that neither of you admit to actually dating or anything really, what is she to you?”

Putting down the barrel when the question ran through his thought process....before picking up a different schematic, “When I figure that out, you’ll be the first I call cupcake.”

“Heh...you know Sol’s been looking into your current affairs and he’s been trying to find more about Neo ever since Big Boss moved you up a bit closer to his level. Thank Locke though, he’s been holding him back.”

“I can handle myself mind you, Sol knows hes losing it and he’s afraid I’ll try to up him because the other branches rely on me to get work done that would have been his.”

Getting up from his chair to look over his shoulder to see what he was doing, “Is he wrong to think that?”

“These days half the Syndicate is idiots that can barely follows directions to the bathroom, I’d rather blow my brains out then lead this trainwreck. Though I heard Sol is making me a small group for something so I’ll probably have to watch my movements when that comes.”

“Yeah...”, Junior looked at the schematics and picked up a sharp looking hook with a wire wrapped at the end. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out a weapon for me.”

“Don’t you already have Yami?”

Glancing to the katana that was leaning against the edge of his desk, “That thing belongs to the Syndicate, want something that I can call my own. I was gonna steal some more weapons from the armory but the quartermaster said I was free to use whatever I wanted. Tired of using that old bat aren’t you?”, tossing him an Atlas weapons catalogue.

He flipped through the pages, “...You’ve got the foresight Roman, what’s gonna happen between you and Sol?”

Picking up a catalogue he got from a weapons dealer in Tartarus to see a cane sword while looking at a schematic for a grenade launcher, “We’re good, long as he doesn’t cross the line.”

\---------

**Two Days Before Arrest (Roman, Age: 15)**

“I want to kill Neo.”, freezing his hand in place as he was about to turn the doorknob when he heard Sol’s voice.

“That girl that’s always with Roman? What for?”, he recognized the second voice as Sol’s ex-girlfriend Priscilla but she’s also part of a different branch from the main gang..

“He’s gotten too confident, and losing a girl that clings to him like that will definitely cut him down to size.”

“....You know if Locke and/or Junior find out you’ll be facing hell you know?”

“They won’t find out if you do it, you’re still the best at this babe.”

“And you think I’m gonna risk my life to help you measure up to Big Boss’ #2?  Forget it.”

Roman could hear her steps coming towards the door so he backed away and down the hallway but just enough so he could still hear, “Wait! I’ll pay you whatever you want if you just do this for me.”

Hearing her heels stop and assumed she turned to him, “Whatever I want?”

“Yeah...whatever you want.”

He could hear the clear change in tone in her voice, “Then you better not back out on me or next time I’ll bite your dick off~”, giving a threat with a very happy tone.

Roman started walking towards the doors again when it opened to see the young and pretty short haired brunette who wasn’t paying attention as she waved bye. Once he was close enough he put his arm in front before wrapping around her waist, “Haven’t seen you in awhile Prissy.”

She was surprised at first but quickly assumed a smile, “Hello Roman, I’ve been meaning to visit but you know how things just come up.”

“Why don’t we get dinner later today then? For old times sake.”, she eyed him suspiciously until she caught what she thought were lustful eyes staring down her half buttoned shirt and his hand reaching for her butt. “Sure why not? Pick me up at six?”

His smile was his confirmation before he let go but her assumption was enough for him to place a device pulsating a signal inside her right back pocket, without her knowing. While she left Roman entered Sol’s office and sat in the comfy seat in front of his desk, “So, what’d you call me for Sol?”

“How’d the deal go with Seria?”

“Perfect, she’s even agreed to allow our own personnel to oversee security for the shipments.”

Hearing his scroll go off Sol checked it to see he got a message and the look on his face made Roman assume it was Seria, “See? It went perfect, just like me.”

“Guess...we’re done here then. I’ll call you again if I need you Roman.”

Expecting him to leave but Roman’s expression changed as his smile was gone and for once Sol was actually afraid by how silent he was. “Y-you got something to say Roman?!”

“You tell me, is there something I gotta say Sol? Or better yet...is there something you’ve got to tell me?”, hearing his rather cold tone Sol was reaching for the gun under the table until....

“I’m just joking Sol.”, assuming his smiling act and more upbeat tone, “You need to loosen up; get a massage, go meet some girls or something. Just sitting in your office is making you crazy.”

“Haha...yeah...you’re probably right.”, slowly letting go of the gun as Roman got up and started to leave even though he couldn’t see the anger on the orange haired killer.

After spending a few hours working on old assignments Roman picked up Priscilla and had a rather peaceful dinner before going back to her apartment...

She had more than a few and was stumbling to her door while Roman basically had to hold her up the entire way. “Told you to stop drinking after the fourth bottle Priscilla.”, she stopped and turned around to kiss him before putting a finger to his lips. “Y-you...don’t tell me h-how many I-i can drink. I tell me...what was I saying.....?”

Thats the only thing Roman remembered about Priscilla, after drinks she could barely stand on her own two feet and she was easy.

He continued to smile as he reached down her back pocket which gave him a slightly erotic moan out of her before he pulling out her keys and trying them until he got the right one to open her door.

“I’m home!”, yelling into the room when a small black cat came in and meowed which she took as the response. She stepped past the cat while it wandered to Roman’s leg and he was looking around her place, what he assumed was her work place was a mess and the rest was clean.

After loosening his tie he picked up the cat and placed it on the table along with his hat while he followed a stumbling Priscilla to the bedroom. She plopped face first onto her bed, “Ah...soft...but it feels so hot...”, turning over to struggle to with the buttons on her shirt.

Roman moved her hands and ripped her shirt wide open to reveal a blue laced bra though his eyes noticed some of the tattoos around her stomach and one of them looked like a branding from his eyes, “Mmmm...it’s still a little hot...”

He smiled and helped her strip off her pants to showcase panties of similar design with her bra but he didn’t bother trying to hide the tracker when he pulled it out of her pants. The red light was still going off before he checked the time on his scroll.

“What’s..that Roro?”, weakly pointing to the tracker but he tossed it to land on the table.

“Nothing dear, you still feeling hot?”, returning to her as she got her legs on the bed as well and tried to relax....“My chest feels kind of tight...”

Before telling her to turn over he noticed it was on the front and unhooked it for her to give a sigh of relief after pulling him to have his face in her breasts, “Mmm...it feels better now...”

While he wouldn’t complain about the soft warm pillows, he could do without the smell of cheap booze...hell if he could at least smoke between her breasts it’d make the smell more bearable. While he moved up a bit his lips continued to touch her body and he ignored her moans to check the time again.

Though she grabbed his hand and made him lose his grip on his scroll to drop before making him grab her right breast, “Pay attention to me...”

“Strike that, **extremely easy**.”

“You...say something..”

He squeezed her breast which shut her up for a few seconds before he reached his arm to grab his scroll. Pulling away from her to laid down on the other side of her bed while he raised the scroll to check some old messages he forgot to check.

Seemingly a little upset she got on top of him and started to undo his shirt even though he still ignored her and was busy responding to the old messages that were indeed work-related. While his mind was focused on other matters he figured his body’s natural reactions to the opposite sex was enough to satisfy her when he felt her starting to unzip his pants.

Though the feeling was still good when he felt her lips touch, he kept a hold on the small syringe strapped to the back of his belt and remained unfocused on the brunette’s performance. She appeared to sober up as she stopped and he could see some annoyance on her face for ignoring her the whole time, “Why are you ignoring me...”

“Cause you’re fairly ignorable Prissy.”, she moved up his body and he could feel the tip about to go in, “Can you ignore thi-”

Knock, knock, knock; and she turned to her front door when Roman pulled out the syringe and stuck it in her neck to inject the light blue liquid inside her. She was stunned before she fell on his body, “Took you guys long enough.”

Moving aside the now paralyzed Priscilla to the other side of the bed while he zipped up his pants and buttoned his shirt before turning to Locke and two gangster looking fellows with the Gemini tattoo. “I can’t imagine finding you with a naked and paralyzed woman is gonna mean something good Roman. But why am I here?”

“I want out, but I know Sol won’t let me go that easily.”

“And what does this have to do with her?”

Sitting on the bed to gentle touch Priscilla’s cheek and he could feel her shiver, “Sol wanted cute Priscilla here to kill Neo, so I took it upon myself to take the initiative. Should have said no and stayed out of this Priscilla, you probably would have been a good girl to keep on the side.”

He could see the fear in her eyes when he smiled at her since even she knew what was coming when he reached for a pillow and gestured to one of the gangsters who then threw him a pistol. “See you later Prissy,” covering her face with the pillow before firing a single muffled shot that splattered blood over the bed.

Getting up from the bed after passing the gun back to the gangster and gesturing them to get to work while he and Locke sat down in the chairs in the living room. “I know Sol isn’t dumb enough to take you down considering what you’ve done for the Syndicate Roman.”

“But he is dumb enough to try and make sure I stay under his thumb when he knows what I can do, with or without the Syndicate behind my back. I’ve payed back my debt to him ten-fold and now hes afraid I’ll take the role from him and if I say I’m leaving he’ll think I’m taking away everything I’ve built for him in the past eight years away.”

“You think he’d really stop you?”

Pulling out a smoke to light while he glanced to see the two workers put Priscilla’s body in a bag, “I think he’d rather see me dead before I leave.”

“For once you're actually asking for my help?”

Puffing some smoke out while he stared out the window, “I don’t got enough pieces to play Old timer. If I chop off the head three of his lackeys will take his place.”

Locke studied Roman’s expression and the way he was while he was looking towards the city, “I think it’s time you meet the Boss, face to face Roman.”

“Face to face?”, after paying off the Gemini workers to deal with the rest Roman got in the car and fell asleep as Locke drove to a location in the far right side of what everyone knew was the rich district.

Once they got there they found a rather exquisite looking mansion and the maids and butlers had let them in with no question once they recognized them. Roman followed Locke quietly until they stopped inside what appeared to be a study. A fire was roaring with two large seats in front of it and one of them had some kind of oxygen tank leaning against it.

Locke stopped and gestured Roman to go sit and he did. When he did he saw an elderly man who looked like they would drop dead if they even moved before he turned to look at him, “Roman Torchwick, I knew your father before he turned into the useless shit he died as. Though I didn’t expect his kid to be his killer when Sol told me. Wanna know what happened to your mother?”

Surprised at first by his apparently old connection but when his mother came up he assumed his unmoving expression, “I already learned what happened to my mother a few years ago.”

“Enlighten me kid.”

“She was a huntress, but soon after she had me she was called in to help. Being the warrior of justice people said she was she left me with my father to go defend a village. But they didn’t have the manpower to defend it from the grimm and they had to be evacuated, but she traded her life for a kid and died protecting the dropships.”

“And what do you think of that?”

Roman thought about smoking but remembered the oxygen tank and put it away to just stare at the fire, “What should I think? My mother died a savior and I killed my old man to save myself from slitting my own wrists, I’m living the dream.”

He chuckled but ended up coughing which worried Locke but he held him back, “Back when Sol first recruited you and Junior he was just my spoiled, adopted, and idiot excuse of a son, but in the past years you helped him make his standing in the crew and you, specifically you, expanded our reach farther than he ever could on his own.”

“But Locke tells me you want out. I’ll give you an out that can only be done two days from now but it’s up to you to go through it.”

“Two days from now?”

“Sol and the leaders of the other branches are meeting to discuss the Syndicate’s next move since you took care of the last two organizations.”, Roman wondered at first why he wasn’t informed but remembered Sol which answered everything.

But if its a meeting with the leaders... “I want you to kill my son and the branching leaders to effectively destroy the gang.”

“Boss!”, Locke showing genuine distress.

“Shut it Locke, my son has been driving us down the hole ever since he took a chair. And now that he’s been able to replace all the old leaders with those loyal to him he’s only gonna make us burn.”

Turning his eyes back to Roman, “You wanted an out, that’s your out Roman. Kill everyone in control and torch the Syndicate with whatever dignity and self-respect it still has left...starting...”, the Boss reached to his left to open a box and pulled out a silver revolver to load it a single bullet before holding it out to him. “....with me.”

Roman was at first confused but noticed Locke had left the study so that it was only him and the Boss. He got up from his seat to walk over and grab the revolver, checking to see that the bullet would be fired if he pulled the trigger. “Pull that trigger and theres only one way to go, but if you can’t pull it then you’re a worthless shit who doesn’t deserve to escape Roman.”

Hearing him he eventually raised the revolver to aim it directly at the boss’ head when he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes.

“...I’m coming Alice...”, was the last words he said when Roman pulled the trigger and blood splattered from his head but the sound rang through the room while he was still dazed by what the hell happened.

Hearing footsteps come back, “...You got a plan Roman?”

Roman looked at the gun before tossing it in the fireplace and watched it burn, “...I’ve got something....take care of your family Old Timer, I’ve got work to do.”

\----

**One Day Before Arrest**

“Are you crazy?!”

“You’ve asked me about six times already Junior.”, ignoring the outburst while Roman was sharpening a strange looking knife with a very jagged edge.

Neo and the twins were peeking over to the two from over the couch but they knew better than to get involved when either of the individuals were angry with the other. “Even if you took away their guns, how do you expect to face off twenty something people with a knife in a small ass conference room Roman?”

Pointing the knife to him but before he could respond there was a knock on his front door, “It’s open.”

Opening the door to let herself in was the woman Neo and Roman recognized as Nico from Miridan’s clinic. She waved hi to Neo and the girls before quickly making her way to Roman and Junior.

Even Junior and the twins had to admit it was surprising how quickly Roman picked up sign language and figured it was impossible for him to learn fluently in less than a month. _Wheres that old hag Miri?_

 _Ms. Miridan hurt her back and told me to deliver in her place_ , reaching inside her bag to pull out a small metal case to hand it to Roman. He opened it to reveal two syringes, one containing an amber-colored liquid and the other was crimson red, but his eyes went to the note before he pulled out.

_For the record you’re crazy Torchwick and if you take these two then you’re downright insane.... the red one will push your body to the limit making you faster and stronger in exchange that some parts of your body will be numb for a few days or a few hours if you’re lucky._

_The Yellow one...will let you see in the dark for a short time at the cost of your vision for three days...but there's a chance that it may be permanent, so if you plan on really using this then you better make it count._

Looking at the note made Roman laugh but made Junior spin the case and read the note himself, “Roman, you can’t be serious.”

“Haha...wow she actually had this shit.”

“You can just leave, I’ll even help you escape to Vacuo or Mistral or something.”

“Then it’s no longer between Sol and me, the gang doesn’t show kindness to deserters remember?”

“And you’re willing to go blind for her?!”

The twins and Neo were confused on who her was even though Roman and Junior was talking about Neo. Roman told them that he was doing it out of freedom but Junior knew his old partner better than that, “...It’s fine, I don’t got much to lose but all to gain with this one Junior.”

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

Pulling a smoke and tried to look for his lighter but Nico was kind enough to light it for him with the matches she had on her, “...I’m gonna need your help on this one Junior...”

This was one of the few times Junior could hear the honesty in his voice and that in itself told him that he wasn’t gonna change his mind. Though he was still pissed off at how he was going at it until he looked towards the girls who still didn’t fully understand the situation but they usually sided with Roman since by whatever god or devil looking down on him would pull him through..”Sigh...fine, whatever.”

“Thanks Junior.”

\-------

**You’re Under Arrest For Murder**

With the sun shining brightly through the windows Roman walked down the hallway until he stopped at the double doors where Sebastian and Gale were waiting. “Everything ready?”

The two nodded and Roman smiled, “Then get out before the police come.”

Sebastian pulled Gale off him when she hugged him and he looked at the doors as he could hear the voices inside. After taking a deep breath and readying himself he pushed the doors open for all eyes to be on him while they closed behind him, “Roman...”

“Sorry for being late, but you know how difficult it is to come to these meetings when no one tells you.”, the sarcastic tone was clear and made some of the leaders nervous as he walked along the side of the room.

“It’s your day off Roman...I figured I could take care of things myself.”

“Take care of things yourself? Sol, you haven’t taken care of shit for eight years.”, giving him a smile that was devoid of any human warmth before he was standing next to Sol’s chair.

“W-what are you doing?”, touching his chair he could feel Sol shake just looking at him and his unchanging smile, “Sol, I’ve given you my life and helped you fit in that seat when you were just spoiled shit. But I’m nice enough to let you know, to your face, I’m gonna slit your throat wide open.”

Completely stunned by how he could say that with a straight face and a smile no less distracted him from the knife he was pulling from his back, “As for my standing with the gang, here’s my resignation.”

Grabbing the back of his head to slam him against the table before pulling him back and stabbing the knife through his throat and quickly pulling it for blood to spill out onto the table. Sol gripping his throat and convulsing on the table while Roman was laughing at how he was trying to stop the blood.

The other people in the room were shocked and tried to reach for their weapons until they remembered that they gave up their weapons due to Sol’s paranoia, the ones closet to the doors tried to open them but they heard a click for the electronic lock to work. “Trying to run away so soon? We’re just getting started.”

“There’s at least twenty of us Torchwick, you can’t kill us all!”, but the back lights where the doors were had suddenly went out.

And the eyes went back to Roman as he was smiling while he injected himself with the two syringes, “Oh...but I will.”, and the rest of the lights went out to encase the entire room in darkness while the only thing they could see was Roman’s green eyes.

The only things that could be heard in that room was the screaming of grown men and women and the sound of bodies tumbling over each other....and with the sound resonating throughout the entire building due to some tweaks to the PA system that was installed over night.

The police had already gotten a tip about the meeting and was headed there but they brought more forces once their phones were ringing with each one calling about the screaming.

There was a crowd gathered outside the building with police stopping them but they could still hear the screaming and sounds of struggle by the time the SWAT teams came.

“Shouldn’t we be doing something Ozpin?”

“The Chief of Police told us to be on standby, if we got involved we may cause more problems than solving them.”, though a woman’s scream for help from the PA system had pierced the air and terrified everyone.

But then there was completely silence before all they could hear was low laughter, “Move in!”

The SWAT teams and a few regular police officers had busted through the door and for some reason all they could hear was the sound of their overlapping footsteps as they could see them ascend the building through the windows until they stopped at one spot on the seventh floor of the building.

They heard them break open the doors, “Freeze, put your hands up!”

When they did Ozpin immediately saw an officer next to the van that belonged to the police had ran to throw up in a trash can. But he walked over with Glynda following him to look at the laptop and saw what the officers up there were seeing, Ozpin was slightly shocked while Glynda looked horrified, “Oh my god...”

The entire room was covered in blood and bodies were scattered about.....

But the camera zoomed on the lone figure sitting in the last chair that was spinning a knife in their hand and he smiled while his green eyes faded to white, “Hello boys, you’re late to the party.”

“Roman?”

And to everyone in the crowd, that single line was more chilling than everything they had heard.

“M-monster...”

“Drop the knife!”

“Roman Torchwick, you’re under arrest for murder.”, quickly taking him and putting handcuffs on him before escorting him out once they confirmed that no one else was alive in that blood-soaked room.

When they came out of the building the crowd backed away from the sight of a Roman literally dripping with blood and a bandage covering his eyes while a female officer was being rather very gentle with him as she guided him to the van.

Though Roman could feel their eyes, and started to laugh like a madman, “You told me I was worthless old man! Look at what I can do now you piece of shit!! HAHAHA!!!!”

And while they struggled to push the laughing Roman into the van the crowd was filled with fear, but Ozpin wondered if that last bit was an act. “He looks like he’s barely sixteen...how could someone so young do something like this?”

Listening to Glynda but his eyes turned to a man with some anger in his expression with three young girls whose worry was written on their faces, “Anyone is capable of doing such things...its just a matter of what they are doing it for...

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**Present**

“And so I sat in a cell for a few days until my vision came back and by then I was released with all evidence against me gone.”, he had to admit that he was tired of sitting on the chair for so long but he wasn’t gonna complain with the Cinder listening carefully.

“What a thrilling ending.”, and her smile while beautiful was something he didn’t really wanna see after telling her of how he massacred a bunch of people.

She stretched her arms behind her head and he couldn’t help but stare at her chest when she did before getting up to place a hand on his shoulder, “Though I’m surprised you told me that little bit with that female slut.”

Standing up and responding her with a smile after carefully pushing her hand away, “I just wanted to let you know that when I have something on my mind, there’s nothing that’ll stop me. Even when a beautiful woman is straddling or performing for me.”

He had a hand behind his back, “But it’s rather late, so I’m guessing I’ll take the couch?”, looking up to him since he was still taller she wrapped her arms around his waist which surprised him at first.

“You think I trust you enough to leave you out of my sight when you have so many reasons to run? You’ll sleep with me, don’t worry I don’t bite, much.”

Before letting go and he watched her head for the bed while he pulled the thing he was holding in his hand behind his back. Looking at the suppressed gun he had taken from Iris’ place, to see that the barrel was half melted making it useless.

“It’s always the hot ones that are crazy.”, before tossing the gun in the trash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering about Ages then  
> Roman: 19, Neo: 16, Junior: 25, Melanie: 17, Miltia: 17
> 
> Team RWBY: Same Age as Original , Team JNPR: Same Age as Original
> 
> Cinder: Saying 18 because lets face it, anime looks or not she just feels younger than Roman, Mercury and Emerald: 17
> 
> Ozpin, Glynda and the rest of the older cast: Your guess is as good as mine with their eternal good looks.


	16. Chess Pieces

Blinking his eyes to see the ceiling and about to turn over to his left but just barely stopped himself when his hand almost touched the fiery temptress. Pulling his hand back to look at her sleeping face.

_Huh...when she’s sleeping she almost looks human...._

But his instincts made him want to get away so he got out of the bed and started trying to look for his shirt...

“Wha?”

“Wow, you work fast Torchy.”, seeing Mercury and Emerald in the doorway but before they could say anymore he covered their mouths with his hands as he glanced over to Cinder who only rolled over to the other side, “Why don’t we take this to the living room and let sleeping beauty keep sleeping eh kids?”

They both looked at Cinder before eventually nodding and turned around while Roman closed the door behind them. They pulled chairs to sit at the table while Emerald passed a foam coffee cup to Roman and he guessed they went to a cafe before they came here, “I didn’t know what you drink...so I just picked something sweet.”

He didn’t mind the taste but he preferred bitter to wake him up on these kind of mornings, “So, weren’t you two supposed to keep watch at Beacon?”

“And leave Cinder with you?”

“Please Emmy, I’m a gentleman. I have enough self-restraint to last one night. In any case I’m sure you didn’t really come to protect sleeping beauty’s chastity which I’m certain has already been broken by someone, so why are you really here?”

“We’re here for boss lady.”

Fact that it was something he wasn’t suppose to hear.... made him remember he’s yet to hear what her actual goal is. He could think of hundreds of reasons to stockpile so much dust but when he took Cinder as the owner he couldn’t find one that matches how he thinks she would gain from it. “I’m going to assume you two have been with Cinders for awhile now, so I’m sure you have a grasp on what she plans to do.”

“We’re not telling you anything.”, and was quickly shot down by Emerald while Mercury shrugged with a smirk.

“You know that mouth of yours is a real problem Emmy, maybe I should-”, feeling an elbow rest on his left shoulder. “Should do what Roman?”

Looking over his shoulder to see Cinder now wide awake and even though she was only in her underwear she still had a menacing aura around her. So he responded with a smile, “Congratulate her on being able to talk back of course.”

Brushing her arm off him before he got up from his seat and gestured her to sit, “Well then, if I’m not wanted for this little info party then you don’t mind if I shower? No? Have fun then.”. After she sat he went to the bedroom and closed the door he noticed a dresser with what he figured were Cinder’s other clothes.

Pulling out his scroll to record audio and placed it near the edge of the dresser to be as close to the door as possible before covering it with some of her shorts.

\----

After the shower he peeked outside the bathroom to find it still empty and the door still closed. Putting on his pants at least before he went to grab his scroll that was still recording but the door suddenly opened for him to face Cinder.

Luckily he had dropped his scroll in the opened drawer but she was staring at his other hand since he was holding her shorts when he checked his scroll, “Why...”

Though there was no shock in his face as if he was caught but his usual confidence, “Please dear, no one likes a slob.”, folding her shorts before putting in the drawer. “Done speaking to the children?”

“Does the name Tukson ring a bell?”

Remembering the ex-white fang member that came to seek a ride out of Vale, “Hmm..it doesn’t really come to mind but should it?”

“Make it your job to find and deal with him before the shipments come then. You’ll find your little stick under the sink in the kitchen.”

“Oh? You’re letting me go without a leash this time?”

She chuckled as she picked up a towel from a chair next to a desk before walking next to him to touch the right side of his chest, “I know you won’t run, and you know there isn’t any place you can hide from me.”, then walking past him as her nails trailed off and cut him.

Waiting for her to close the door and then heard the sound of running water before looking down to see himself bleeding, “Tch...what a bitch.”

Exiting the bedroom to find the living room empty with the pair already gone but he went to the table to grab the note to see it was addressed to him and figured it was Emerald who wrote it since he assumed Mercury didn’t write as nicely, [White Fang said they wanted to see you, they’ll find you later today.]

After wetting a paper towel to clean the shallow cuts from Cinder’s nails he checked the time to see it was still early morning so he had time to kill unless the White Fang were dumb enough to contact him in broad daylight.

Going to the kitchen and like she said he found his precious Melodic Cudgel stuck under the sink. While he could carry his trusty cane just fine since he knows the police don’t know about it, he still had to do something about his appearance if he was going to walk outside.

Thinking back...he remembered passing a general store close by when he and Cinder drove back, so he cleaned himself up and wore the hoodie again as he exited the apartment. Pickpocketing a few unlucky suckers along the way to the store which he used to pay off the clerk to go take a break.

While he browsed for a new set of clothes and picked up black hair dye his attention was taken by the television at the clerk’s counter when he heard his name. Though it was the usual, if you see this man call the police or don’t confront him because he is dangerous, and while he expected to become a wanted criminal in the future he didn’t expect it to happen for someone else's plan.

_I need to figure out her plan and the only use that makes sense for her to want all this dust is to create some bomb but what’s the target?_

Figuring he wasn’t gonna find out now he changed his clothes to a black dress shirt, blue jeans and a black cap when his scroll pinged, [Can you meet?], recognizing the number from that blonde woman Glynda since Ozpin gave him his and her number when he made the deal.

[Come to the cafe across from the Vale Police station.]

\-------

Sitting at the table near the edge of a terrace cafe he patiently waited while keeping himself hidden with today’s newspaper even though he figured he was able to disguise well enough to people couldn’t recognize from a distance.

And it helped that there wasn’t that many customers so the terrace was more or less empty except for a few couples. But he heard her heels before he lowered the newspaper to see Glynda come through the glass doors but she was walking around a bit until she was close enough to hear him, “While I don’t mind your usual hot professor attire, you should really look into inconspicuous classes dear.”

She turned after hearing him and while he kept the newspaper up he gestured her with a finger to come. After she sat down he put the newspaper down and she was surprised from just looking at him, “Roman?”

With black hair, crystal blue eyes behind yellow-tinted circle glasses while wearing a suit jacket and red tie made Roman look more like a businessman. “I don’t mind you saying my name but how many do you know share my name?”

She glanced to her sides but only saw couples who were too busy wooing each other, “Do you really think it’s safe to meet this close to the police station?”

“The safest meetings are in plain sight. The dumb bad guys avoid the police all together while the smart ones are good enough not to do anything in public.”

“Are you suggesting I was followed?”

Pushing a coffee cup that was still warm to her side of the table, “I’m suggesting that you aren’t watching your ass enough to know if you’ve got a tail on you or not.”, saying with a sincere looking smile and she sipped the coffee.

“Well, what did you want to meet me for?”

“Information obviously. For starters, the leader’s name.”

Shaking his head, “Now you should know better than to ask me that.”

“You should know at least they’re name after that....mess you caused, especially....”

Guessing she was going towards the innocent clerk he killed, “Add that to my sentence then.”

“Ozpin agreed to this and I know he wouldn’t let an asset sit in prison Ro-”

“Wrong, Ozpin’s reach is to the school and the second it’s known I was working for his efforts then him and Beacon academy will fall for extreme negligence which includes my way out. I know if I stick with you do-gooders I’m going to end up in a cold cell and you’ll throw away the key which is just slightly better than getting killed off.”

“That’s not true.”

“Tell me Glynda, what are you going to do if I tell you the leader’s name?”

“We would-”

“You would search high and low for them and once you think you’ve caught up to them they’ll escape your grasp and unless you plan to take my place, guess who’s head is gonna be under the guillotine when they question how their identity was leaked?”

Pointing to himself and she tried to think of something to counter but she couldn’t deny that they would search constantly and even if one of their allies mentions the leader’s name they’d get suspicious. “Fine...what can you tell me?”

He pulled out a cigarette and ignored her dissatisfaction after seeing it to smoke before responding, “Phew...I’ve just put an order for a very large quantity of dust from Atlas.”

“Dust?”

“I got a pretty good idea what she plans to do with it, but I don’t have an idea where exactly she plans to use it.”

“You mean..”

He pulled out a fire dust crystal that appeared to be cut to make it appear like a coin which he started flipping through his fingers, “Dust is a highly volatile resource that we take for granted. This small coin of dust is enough to take care of everyone on the first floor of this cafe....

And like a magic trick a second coin shaped ice dust appeared, flipping with the fire dust coin, “....imagine how much damage dozens, possibly hundreds of dust can do.”, clinking them together in the end.

“So they plan to use explosives...but for what?”

“They don’t trust me enough to fill me in on the plan, but I’m sure they’ll tell me when it’s convenient for them.”

“Will you try to at least....lessen the damage?”

He looked at her expression and he didn’t really know what she was thinking when she looked at me but figure like Ozpin she was a savior for the people and constantly put them first....“I can’t promise anything, but a little sabotage here and there should be able to go unnoticed.”

“Professor Goodwitch?”

She turned and he glanced behind her to recognize Coco Adel holding a coffee cup and the rabbit faunus Velvet next to her. He spoke low enough for only Glynda to hear, “Guess this is where it ends for now,” before looking to the girls.

With a deep enough voice that was distinctly different from his own, “Are these lovely ladies students of yours professor?”

“Miss Adel, Miss Scarlatina, what are you two doing here?”

“My morning class got cancelled and Velv here was free so I figured we could get some coffee, are we interrupting...”

Roman got up as both the girls eyed him and figured they were either guessing who he could be or they weren’t as blind and could see some resemblance. “Ah, no. I was just leaving, but it was a pleasure meeting such a beautiful and mature woman like yourself. Have a pleasant day and hope to see you again Professor.”

Giving a wink before passing by Velvet who looked like they stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have seen and Coco who looked obviously curious while he could hear Glynda sigh.

Leaving the cafe and walking down the street when he remembered what Cinder asked of him, so he dialed Tukson’s number since he remembered it from Junior’s file. “Tukson’s Book Trade, how can we help you?”

“Should get a receptionist to answer instead.”

“...Roman?"

“Cats outta the bag, get dodging Tuks.”, after saying that he heard him drop the phone and could hear the sound of his footsteps on the other line before hanging up. While he didn’t have any reason to try and help him he didn’t like listening to that woman’s words to the letter in the first place.

He ended up at the park and got his wish when he didn’t see Neo or the twins there, thinking the more distance they have the better. Though he did notice a particular black colored girl with a bow laying down on a bench with her arm over her eyes.

_One of the little troublemakers....though her and the little band of destructive girls with her would realistically be enough to count as sabotage..._

Putting his cane to lean against the other end of the bench before putting on a pair of black hard leather gloves.

“Should really cover up Kitten, else you’ll burn like a raisin sleeping like that.”, he saw the bow twitch and she suddenly sprung up but he caught her fist and pushed her back down to the bench while covering her mouth with his right hand.

He could feel her teeth piercing through the leather gloves, “I didn’t feel like fighting, but I’ll still kill you if you make me. So just give me a reason Kitty.”

She still looked like she wanted to kill him but her expression showed some cracks from fatigue so he eventually pulled his hands away and she sat up. He picked up her bow that fell off and tried to put it back on for her but she snatched it away and did it herself to cover her feline ears. “Must be tough hiding and lying to yourself all the time.”

Taking a seat next to her with enough distance that she wouldn’t be as uncomfortable. “You’re a monster.”

“Already know that Kitty, gotta a better title for me?”

“I’ll call the police.”

“Go ahead, it’s not like they're actually a challenge,”, he tapped his cane for her to notice, “Besides, I’m sure the boys in blue would be interested in the White Fang’s princess. Or is it ex-princess now?"

Looking at her he could actually see the fatigue showing on her and the bags under her eyes were a clear indicator she wasn’t sleeping much either. He decided to smoke and wait for her to calm down before, “You know in your current state you’ll never find the White Fang, much less convince them to stop.”

“What do you know?”

“I understand by how you act when I deal with the rabid dogs that you still have some feelings attached to them. I’m sure your old band of idiots weren’t terrorists to begin with but seeing how conversations and peaceful riots weren’t working, someone grew a pair of balls and started fighting.”

Pulling out the pack he offered but she was weary as her hand floated to her weapon, “..What they’re doing is wrong, it shouldn’t be this way.”

“Making people recognize with force in order to establish that you’re equals or hopelessly aim for acceptance with peaceful actions while being beaten for it and seen as inferior, which one is the right way and which one is the best way Blake?”

“Obviously...”

“Not everyone shares the patience of a vulture waiting for a poor sap to die and probably an eccentric few share the same masochistic tendencies you think you don’t have.”, cutting her off before even hearing her answer because even he knew which was the ‘morally correct way’ though he wouldn’t choose it anyway.

“Want a little truth? Even if the human race was facing extinction, the faunus, will still be seen as second class because one race always strives to be the top. And this truth works both ways if humans and faunus switched places, there's no such thing as equality.”

“....That’s...not true...”

Since she was silent after that he wondered if he hit too hard with that one or she was contemplating if there was truth in his words, even though he really believed that since he’s already seen how ‘good’ and bad humans interact with the faunus.

Thinking about it himself he remembered when he was young that he saw significantly more faunus children than human children in the black market. He even remembered a faunus bunny girl was molested on a crowded street, and when she yelled for help two humans instead of helping took her away where he later saw on the news of the girl being found dead after a brutal gangrape.

As he was finishing his smoke he tossed it in the trash can next to the bench before standing up, “Well then, I’ve killed enough time with you Kitty.”, and turned to leave after grabbing his cane.

But he paused and glanced behind to tell her, “Get some sleep Blake. Take a walk on the docks for a few days and skip a few stones to relieve some stress, you might find what you're looking for.”, and he saw her looking with a confused look though he figured she’d understand.

\-------

After walking a bit and taking the bus the rest of the way there he ended up in the Industrial district because he didn’t know exactly where the White Fang were hiding out but if they were to contact him it’d be this place that was busy and has too many dark corners to hide in.

Though he ended up finding a spot where workers were taking a break and gambling a bit so he might as well do something as he waited. After beating close to twenty people and taking their money did someone who didn’t fit in approach him by tapping his left shoulder, “Um, Mr.?”

Glancing over his shoulder to see a young rabbit faunus girl dressed like a student who somewhat reminded him of Velvet, though her presence felt significantly smaller in comparison. “This is you right?”, showing him her scroll which had a picture of him and his name.

Turning back to his opponent, “Looks like my date is here, checkmate.”, setting the piece in place and the old man groan after seeing it while Roman locked arms with the young girl and walked back out on to the street.

“You’re not very smart are you? Don’t wave my picture around like nothing.”

“Sorry.”, looking embarrassed.

“Forget it, just take me where we need to go.”

Nodding to his order they walked quite a distance before entering a building through an outside basement door in the alley before heading down a long dark corridor before it expanded to reveal a large underground room where there was beds for the members to sleep and what looked storage for weapons and resources.

He got some curious glances over his disguise while he followed the rabbit down the large room to enter through a door into a smaller one that appeared to be the center of their little base of operations. Looking over a map on a table was the big one he’d only known as the Lieutenant while the red haired, black suit man was also there.

Roman knew only his name was Adam Taurus since his appearance matches some stories he’d remembered hearing during his trips to the black market. Other than that it was apparently difficult to find any information on the White Fang these days.

The girl saluted, “S-sir! I’ve brought Roman Torchwick!” for the pair to look up from the table and took them a few seconds before acknowledging that he was him. The girl stepped aside and gestured him for Roman to step up to the table to face them with a good distance since the table separated them, “So, there a reason you wanted to see me Bulldog?”

Looking unamused by the name Adam pulled what seemed to be a photo from his jacket, “What’s your relationship to her?”, before tossing it across the table to land face up in front of Roman to reveal a shot of him and Blake on the bench.

He could only assume that whoever took the picture, found and followed him after meeting Glynda....”You didn’t strike me as the jealous type Taro.”, showing a smile while he kept a tight grip on Melodic behind his back.

“Answer. The question.”

Picking up the picture and turning it over to show it back to Adam, “Obviously there isn’t anything there. I was just giving some friendly advice to a poor homeless girl, I mean look how dir-”, before he could even finish his sentence Adam drew his sword to cut through table and send a blade-like beam at Roman.

Roman stepped back while tossing his cane forward for it to line up with the blade beam and clash with it which sent it back to him.

But Adam appeared to disappear before reappearing with his blade at his neck when Roman had already grabbed Melodic and the barrel could almost touch his mask. “You better shut your mouth you worthless thief.”

“At least I got my priorities straight. Tell me Addy, what makes you fit to be the leader of the White Fang when it’s clear you’ve still got feelings for a worthless traitor?”

The air was heavy and the other members who were watching didn’t know what to do while the White Fang Lieutenant had his weapon ready if either one was going to move....but Adam eventually pulled his katana back and sheath it while Roman had lowered his cane as well.

“Tell him what he needs to know, I’m going to Forever Fall.”, talking back to the Lieutenant who nodded before he started to pass Roman.

“I won’t touch your little princess cause with the ways things are going, you’ll see her soon enough.”, was the words Roman spoke and made Adam stop but eventually kept walking to leave their base.

The Lieutenant gestured to some of the White Fang members to take away the destroyed table before they quickly came back with a new one. Roman walked to the table while the big man looked at him from the other side, “It’d be best if you wouldn’t provoke Adam and allow us to cooperate.”

“News flash big guy, at the moment the White Fang and me are business partners. Meaning you don’t have to like me, I don’t have to like you all, and we can both want to kill each other as much as we want as long as we get work done, capish?”

After a few seconds the Lieutenant nodded and so did the rest of the White Fang members who were close enough to hear him, “Fair enough, are you ready now Mr. Torchwick?”

He pulled a nearby chair and sat down at the table, “Lay it on me.”, and they brought a map.

“We have more of our members on their way from the neighboring kingdoms and have prepared enough bullheads for the shipment coming in from the docks. We’ve also already stolen the schematics so our specialists can work on making the explosives once we have the dust. But Ms. Fall’s plan requires us to enter an area we do not know yet, are you familiar with Mountain Glen?”

Looking where he was pointing on the map, “I’ve been there once or twice for some special deals when I was a kid but it’s infested with Grimm so no one goes there cept some idiot hunters and huntresses who think they can do an extermination.”

“That woman has provided old plans that reveal there to be some type of underground transit but there doesn’t appear to be a visible opening to enter.”

_Vale’s failed expansion infested with grimm, explosives, and a possible transit system underneath the city with a high chance that it’s connected to Vale...the grimm will be attracted to the noise and follow..._

Roman stood up to get a better look at the plans to see the markings left by the one who made them though it appeared to be a straight drop from a certain area while it looked like there were plans for an elevator on the far left which was closer to the inside of the mountain. “Have your specialists work on making explosives with the dust we already have with just enough power to put a crack through concrete. If they had tried to make an underground railway then some of the ground should be weak enough without proper support.”

“We’ll blow holes through the ground and use rock climbing equipment to rappel to the base level. From there we’ll deal with the pests that’ll be lying around and work on this area where it looks like it was suppose to be some freight elevator, we’ll make-shift one and carry down the rest of the gear while the specialists work on the train.”

“How can you be so sure there will be a train there?”

“You don’t build a stable without horses big guy, they’ll be a train there.”, the Lieutenant looked down at the plans and looked like he was taking everything in to follow before nodding. “Understood, we’ll get started right away.”

Leaving the table as he went back into the big room and Roman could hear him shouting orders while he decided to light a smoke even though he could feel eyes on him coming from the big room.

_What’s the real point of this plan? Driving an explosive train with a bunch of Grimm following it isn’t gonna take down Beacon or Vale, much less take down one district....I’ll figure it out later but I’ll need more time to look at a better detailed map with the tunnel specifics and at least a brief moment with the explosives to do some tampering....sigh....I miss Neo._

Pulling his scroll to see other than Ozpin and Glynda’s contact which he nicknamed Know-it-All and Hot Blonde, were Neo, Junior, and the twins’ numbers. All he had to do was call or text...that was all he had to do but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He figured that if kept his distance, there was a small chance Cinder wouldn’t be able to drag them in and that meant all he had to do was make the right plays while waiting for the best moment to escape her iron grasp after giving Ozpin what he needed. But he already knew such a thing was going to be difficult to do

Roman kept looking until he sighed and just put it away to smoke in some silence while blocking out the voices and footsteps of the White Fang members. “Um, Mr. Torchwick?”

Peeking an eye to his right to see the same rabbit girl, “What?”

“W-we have a car ready for you...”

Pulling his scroll to look at the time to see that it was pretty late even though he felt like everything went pretty slow...but in the end he had to go back to that woman...and just him thinking that made him pissed off as it was basically him crawling back to her every night then...”Sigh.....back to my cage huh?”

“Huh?”

Getting out the chair and grabbing his cane, “Nothing.” He followed after her out of the base and two buildings away before opening a car door. Though before getting in, “Who took the photo in the park?”

“I-i can’t say...”

While it was dark and even though he still had his disguise on she thought she could see his green eyes glimmer through the colored contacts and tinted glasses as he smiled at her. “You can tell me, or I can be...”, putting a hand on her side left side to gently move it down to her hips where she could finally feel the tip of a very small blade touching her, “..very persuasive and I don’t think it'll be good for your heart or your life sweetie if I do.”

Realizing the situation she was in and finally thought it was bad to be alone with someone who was or is a mass murderer...“H-his...name is Perry...he usually wears his big glasses over his mask...”

Only feeling fear as the cold stare of Roman chilled her heart until the feeling of cold metal disappeared and he raised his hand to touch her cheek, “Now look at that? Was that so hard?...You know taking a better look at you, you look really cute.”

“...Really...?”

“Would I lie to a cutie like you?”, looking like she was putting that question through her brain but Roman kept it going, “How about the next time you pick me up, we do something else before coming here?”

“Like...a date?”

“Doesn’t have to be one if you don’t want it, but yes a date.”, seeing her get suddenly shy and looking away from him and it was the type of reaction he was hoping.

“C-can I think about it next time?”

“Of course.”, leaning in to kiss her cheek which surprised the shy faunus before he got in the car and she waved him off as he drove away.

_Huh....since shes pretty submissive I can be aggressive and push the relationship quicker and make her ‘trust’ me. Though I’ll have to be careful with any of the White Fang fodder so that Bull boy won’t catch wind of it...this is probably the quickest way to get any information their holding and get close to any of their specialists._

While he was thinking about his options and thinking about his next course of action he was still dreading going back to sleeping next to that fiery temptress....he wondered if he shouldn’t sleep for a few days since her nails were more like claws. “Sigh....what a fucking pain in the ass.”

“Blake!”

“Blake, where are you?!”, hearing familiar voices as he came to a stop light even though the street was strangely empty. He glanced around until he saw Ruby and Yang walking around looking for little miss Kitty. “And people wonder why it’s not cats are a man’s best friend.”

Though he noticed some rather unruly looking fellows approaching the sisters and couldn’t really hear them but got the gist they said the wrong thing when Yang suddenly punched one of them in the crotch as they crumbled to the ground in pain.

“She really doesn’t pull any punches...”, though she held her ground when one of them pulled a gun and started screaming at her. Seeing that Roman immediately looked to and opened the glove compartment to find a revolver which was still loaded. Rolling down his window all the way before he aimed for the gun while the idiot was still screaming.

Waiting until he stopped waving the gun around to where he took the shot and shot the gun out of the thug’s hand which surprised the rest. Which was also enough time for Yang to kick their asses before they ran away while dragging their friend who was still holding onto to his likely smashed dick.

Roman was about to drive off seeing the situation was diffused...“Hey!”, turning back to see Yang and Ruby approaching his car.

“Thanks for the help back there.”

“Yeah, that was a pretty good shot from this far!”, seeing the sparkles in Ruby’s eyes.

With a deeper voice, “Just good to see you girls are okay, you know you two really shouldn’t be out here this late.”

“Yeah, but we’re looking for our friend.”

“Have you told the police? I’m sure they can find your friend, rather than you two looking for her when it’s pretty dangerous at night. You two look like students, want me to drive you two to the transport?”

The sisters pulled away and consulted in whispers which he couldn’t hear very clearly until they returned to him, “You don’t mind driving us?”

“Hop in.”

Once they got in he did a u-turn and headed for the transport which was also the direction they could see Beacon Academy. “Thanks again for your help and thanks for the ride Mister.”

Giving a smile, “Anytime, but you two should think about your safety more next time you come out.”

“For sure!”

He thought it was strange he was unusually calm with the sisters when he was technically their enemy but he was more glad they were okay.... _If Kitty can’t stop it then you two and the heiress need to be in top shape to stop it._


	17. Aggression

“Heres your change miss.”, the clerk handed Neo her change before she nodded and picked up the bag of groceries to head out of the store. As she walked she checked her scroll to see a few messages from the twins but still nothing from Roman.

Remembering what Junior told her.... _You can do whatever you want Neo but do not try to find Roman yourself, if he’s still with that woman then any move you make could backfire on him._

_Sigh...I’m still worried...._

Though she remembered that the twins were out doing something for Junior and decided to head to the park since she didn’t like being alone in the apartment in the first place. After finding a bench she thought it was strange at first seeing a bunch of younger people around who she figured were students but thought maybe it was a day-off since it was a weekday and there wasn’t any classes.

Looking through her bag to pull out the ice cream she bought when a pack of cigarettes fell out from the bag. Seeing the brand to find it was Lucky 13 made her realize she instinctively bought Roman’s usual pack but seeing it only added to her anxiety so she shoved it back into the bag.

Finding some kind of comfort in the ice cream when, “Excuse me, is this spot taken?”, hearing a deep voice she didn’t bother to look and just gestured that it wasn’t. Only seeing their legs since she was looking down, “A nice day today isn’t it?”

While not caring but trying to be polite she simply nodded and retreated back to her ice cream, “Too bad all these annoying kids are ruining the scenery.”

_Is he one of those old guys that hates youth?_

She heard him rummaging through his pockets, “This may be strange to ask but do you have a cigarette on you?”

 _Asking a young girl for cigarettes...really?_ , thinking the man was annoying and weird but she pulled the Lucky 13 pack to put on his hand when she noticed the scar on his right hand. Dropping her ice cream and finally looking to the man, his hair was black, he wore tinted glasses and his eye color was different but she recognized him, “Miss me cupcake?”, speaking in his normal voice.

Dropping the pack in his hand before hugging him which Roman held her tightly, “Yeah I missed you too.”

 _I thought you were going to stay away....,_ looking up to him.

“I was planning to, but being with a tiger for just a few days wears a guy down. I saw you here by yourself and couldn’t help myself.”, leaning down to give a light kiss on her lips.

She was more than happy to see him, let alone hug and receive a kiss but her thoughts switched back to worry. _Are you okay?_

“Of course, it's gonna take more than a coke bottle flame to break me,” showing off his smile while she assumed he was talking about Cinder.

“How bout you sweetie?”, glancing behind to see the bag of groceries, “You know drinking milk won’t make you taller.”, which got him a punch to the chest from Neo for taking a stab at her height.

“Haha, as cute as ever.”, even though he was laughing and looked like he was in a good mood she noticed his voice sounded tired and while the glasses did pretty well to hide it she saw hints of bags under his eyes.

_....Are you really okay?_

Seeing the expression on her face eventually cracked him, “Heh...you really worry too much. But I haven’t slept much these past few days. Cinder loosened the leash but still makes me sleep in the same bed with her and...,”, lifting up his shirt to reveal shallow but multiple cuts.

“The woman’s nails are damn claws. But I’ve also been doing some digging when I can.”

Tilting her head looking at him as he pulled out to show a photo of what looked like a young girl holding a teddy bear in front of an orphanage, “Guess who that is?”, she was looking at it carefully until she noticed the eyes.

_Is that?_

“It’s that woman Cinder Fall, I went to see the usual brokers down in Tartarus and this is the only thing they could find when it came to her past. This picture was taken thirteen years ago when she was five years old, after that she disappeared off the face of Remnant for those thirteen years until recently she appeared in Mistral’s black market.”

_What does it mean?_

“Means she’s working for someone. I doubt this little girl here became the temptress she is now by herself. So even if I figured out how Cinder thinks and was able to deal with her, I’d be going in blind against whoever she answers to.”

Roman pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette from the pack before raising the picture close to it for it start burning the edge, “She’d probably actually kill me in my sleep if she found out I had this.”, once it was fairly lit he tossed it in the trashcan next to them.

_What are you going to do then?_

“Keep doing what I am now, informing Know it All of what’ll happen but keep the identities until I know I’ve got a way out secured.”

_You’ll be careful right?_

“...Hey Neo, you remember what I told you that one time?”

She was pondering what time he meant as she was looking at his smile until she remembered...

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

**One very early morning three years ago**

Hearing a crash awoke Roman from his bed, “Neo?”, saying her name as he got out and opened the door to his living room. She saw Neo on the ground as if she had rolled off the couch but her eyes were still shut and it looked like she was pushing something away.

“Neo, neo wake up.”, trying his best not to hurt her as he grabbed her arms to stop her from accidentally hitting herself. Though he ended up getting punched in the left cheek but he ignored that and tried to sit her up as he started to shake her, “Neo, wake up! It’s not real!”

Eventually she opened her eyes and once she saw Roman she hugged him tightly and he could feel his shirt getting wet from her tears. “It’s okay, everything's okay, it was just a nightmare Neo.”, constantly repeating the same words over and over even though her grip on him was still tight.

Looking up to him she signed quickly but he was able to keep up and understand, _T-they took you away Roman! T-they took you and they came to take me too....,_ still seeing tears in her eyes he nodded and let her hopefully hug it out.

After a few minutes of being together he stopped hearing her sniffling before he looked back down to her, “Feeling better cupcake?”, not even looking up as she just nodded into his shirt.

While she was still clinging on to him he looked up to the clock to see it was still early and when he looked out the window it was still dark but he noticed a glimmer. “Hey Neo, wanna see something pretty?”

Looking up to him to see a smile he always gave her when she knew he wanted to cheer her up. Picking her up to her feet before grabbing a jacket for her and one for him before they left the apartment.

He had locked arms with her and led the way even though Neo herself was still wondering where he was taking her too until they eventually made it to the construction site of a new high rise building which looked almost finished.

Walking through and ignoring the signs when they got into the elevator and he pressed for the top. Patiently waiting a little bit before the doors opened to reveal the top floor but he pointed to another flight of stairs which they took to the unfinished rooftop.

She looked around while he went for the edge and sat down when he waved her to come. Gesturing for her to sit between his legs which she did and had her legs hanging from the ledge but surprisingly she wasn’t afraid or rather she was a bit too surprised when Roman brought his arms to wrap around her and could feel his chin on her left shoulder. “Look Neo.”

Looking forward to see what he wanted to show her, was the sun rising and slowly shining Vale with a colorful light. “We’ve been together for while already Neo, and you know there are some people that don’t think you’re healthy to my life.”

Hearing that reminded her of some meetings she accompanied him and felt a bit annoyed cause of it, “But when did I ever give a shit about what they said?”, tilting her head back to look up at Roman.

“No one is gonna take me away from you, understand?”, lowering his head down for their foreheads to touch and Neo felt more calm than ever, “Trust me, I’ll be dead before I ever leave you alone.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

_I remember._

“Then you trust me right?”

_Of course._

“And that's why I love you.”

Roman looked at the time on his scroll before sighing, “Wish I could stay longer Neo but I need to get sleep for a job tonight, stay inside today okay?”, kissing her forehead before getting up from the bench.

They waved their goodbyes and separated once more.....though both were unaware of the watchful amber eyes watching them from afar, and the owner of such eyes could only smile with sinister intentions.....

\-------

Sitting on the hood of a car smoking patiently while waiting at the docks and numerous white fang members waiting as they could see the ships coming from the sea.

“Roman?”, recognizing the voice he’s been listening to for the past few days, he turned to the female rabbit faunus who wore casual clothing and wasn’t wearing her mask but she was carrying a coffee cup that she held up to him.

Taking the coffee cup, “Thanks dear,” taking a sip while he’s eyes were focused on the incoming ship. Though he noticed she was still standing close to him with her head looking down and pressing her fingers together, “Um..Roman?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“C-could we go my place again after you're done here....”, which he drank first and thought about it...

“You know, even though you always give off this shy presence you’re surprisingly aggressive in bed.”, which caused some red in her face while also making a few of the male and female white fang members suddenly very interested in the conversation.

But he chuckled after seeing her embarrassed, “Maybe another time, for now head back and tell the Lieutenant to send more help to unload.”, she nodded and had her head down as she walked away while the ship had docked.

“Alright boys and girls, get to work.”, getting up from the car hood as the White Fang started going to the ship as the bay doors opened and the walkway connected.

He patiently waited and watched as the members moved the dust into trucks and the couple of bullheads they already had prepared. But as he was about to check the time a blade suddenly was at his throat and glancing to his side to at first only see the black hair, “Oh for fu-”, but she pushed the blade closer to his throat to shut him.

“Nobody move!”

“Woah there Kitty.”

Hearing her untie her bow, “Brothers and Sisters of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this monster?!”, and the few White Fang members around them had somewhat lowered the weapons which he assumed they were wondering why too.

“Heh, oh kid. Didn’t you get the memo?”

“What are you talking about?

“Me and the White Fang are going on a joint business venture together.”

“Tell me now or I’ll put an end to your little operation right here.”, and suddenly all they hear was the roar of turbines before looking up.

“I wouldn’t call it a little operation,” even Roman was surprised by how many Bullheads this terrorist group had as they invaded the sky, but he whispered under the roar of the turbines just so Blake could hear, “Don’t hold back Kitten.”

“What?”, and she didn’t notice the flash from his cane as he fired at her feet to send her flying.

As she was about to get up he immediately fired and Blake started dodging backwards but she also noticed the there was a mix of white and red flares that were shot. The red flares were clearly farther from her as they hit and made large craters in the ground while the white flares were closer and the craters were significantly smaller.

Using her semblance to take the last white flare shot as she ran for cover, “Here kitty, kitty.”

Suddenly a banana peel came falling from the sky and when he looked up he immediately raised his cane for the feet of a golden monkey to bounce off him. Once the monkey landed and Roman saw him he recognized him as Sun, “Leave her alone.”

The turbines of the Bullheads roared again as they got closer and the White Fang jumped out to land their feet on the ground and quickly surround the monkey faunus, “You are not the brightest banana in the bunch are you kid?”

Gesturing them and the White Fang charged at Sun but he was able to quickly repel them with his fists and kicks before bringing out his signature weapon which appeared to be a staff. “God, what the hell am I paying you idiots for? Oh wait I’m not.”

As he finished off the last few, “He’s mine!”, came Blake jumping over him and striking Roman for him to block. But she quickly used her speed to her advantage as she continued to strike after strike and attacked him from all sides which spun him to which he thought would break his guard.

Except it wasn’t enough and once she made the mistake of striking from the front he pushed her back. He threw a right opened palm but it only connected with the shadow and she backflipped which gave him the momentum to go on the offensive. Deflecting her overhead strike to jab the cane at her side before and upward swing to the chin and spun to smack the side of her face to cause her to turn.

He finished with a downward swing that smacked her down when Sun came with a spin kick to his stomach before making him block when Roman saw his staff broke apart. And he was on the defense again as he was slightly surprised when Sun’s staff broke into gun-nunchucks.

So he focused and continued to deflect every single shot when Blake came with a flying strike. Roman jumped just before and landed on the blade before kicking up to hit Blake’s chin which stopped Sun since they were separated by Blake’s body. He used that single second Blake was stunned to hook her with his cane before spinning to send to her flying for Sun to catch.

It pushed them back but Roman noticed the White Fang members coming from behind them and quickly aimed the freight container hanging above and fired for it to fall. Sun dodged at the last moment and the container separated them but Sun and Blake were down as Roman aimed his cane at them.

“Hey!”, turning his attention to see at a faraway building was Ruby and her oversized weed cutter.

“Oh hello Red! Isn’t it past your bedtime kiddo?”, clearly taunting her when he saw that she lost her focus talking to an orange haired girl which he took the time to immediately line up his sights and fire a speeding white flare that hit Ruby away.

Suddenly the orange haired girl jumped down and Roman saw the blades, “Get her!”, ordering the other White Fang to charge and take on the new girl but she quickly dispatched them with ease. Though they continued to face her while he walked away to a nearby Bullhead.

Though he watched as the girl easily destroy a number of bullheads like they were paper, “These kids just keep getting weirder.”, closing the door of the Bullhead before getting into the co-pilot seat.

“Where to sir?”

Glancing behind him, “Take me to the main base.”, and the pilot nodded while Roman himself laid back into his seat and drifted off to sleep.

After awhile they made it to a secluded area in what Roman figured was Forever Fall. Except the pilot led him through the forest until they arrived at an area with a few tents around but they continued on to what looked like an old communications building from a military base.

Going inside he met eyes with Mercury and Emerald, before meeting eyes with Cinders and Adam. “Sorry for being late, couple of hunters dropping in on the shipment. No big deal.”

Cinder started walking towards him, “I see, it’s good you came out unscatched Roman.”

“Please, you’d think I’d let a couple of kids scratch this face?”, which got some annoyed looks from Emerald and Adam but Mercury didn’t seem to care.

“I know it would have been troubling for me if you got hurt, but it would have devastated her if you did.”, confused by the her when he turned as the sound of the doors opened. His eyes locked with...Neo who was standing with her parasol.

Something snapped in Roman’s mind but he was trying to hold it in, “Why...is she here?”

Cinder walked over to Neo and carefully placed her hands on her shoulders, “She’s here, to keep you in check. You know she only wishes to protect you don’t you?”

“I said I’d cooperate....”

Cinder chuckled as she walked from Neo to Roman and touched his left arm up to his cheek, “And how can I be so sure of your trust when you killed everyone you worked for and that you won’t do the same to me without something to keep you in line?”

All he could feel was anger but it didn’t show on his face and he tossed his cane for Mercury to catch as he walked away from Cinder to open a door which revealed a female locker room which some White Fang were changing, “Out, all of you!”, screaming an order and the members scrambled to get their clothes and leave.

Roman turned back to Cinder with a smile, “Cinder, a word in private if you would.”

Emerald looked worried but Cinder showed only confidence as she listened and walked inside before Roman closed the door behind him and they heard the door lock click.

_Roman...._

“I don’t like this...”

“You need to learn to chill when it comes to boss lady Emmy.” and as he said that they heard a loud thud come from the room. They were at first surprised until they continued hear more thuds and saw the flashes of fire from under the door.

They quickly tried the door, forgetting it was locked until Mercury kicked the door open and they saw the locker room was completely trashed with dents in the lockers and scorch marks on the ground and ceiling but their attention was on Roman..who was on top of Cinder with a switchblade almost touching her face.

Mercury rushed and kicked Roman off to send him back. But Roman quickly got up and Mercury kicked forward which he grabbed to pull Mercury to him before headbutting him to put him down.

Emerald charged at Roman but he ducked and tackled her to the ground before knocking her out with a strong right hook. Getting up and turning his attention back to Cinder.

Cinder was smiling as she wiped the blood off her lips, and gestured him to come. Flipping the switchblade in his right hand to hold it with a reverse grip before rushing which she deflected as her hands glowed with fire.

She continued to deflect while but he saw one opening and kicked her in the stomach to push her against the wall. Grabbing her neck to keep her pin and with the blade raised he pulled it down to....stab the wall just to the left of her face when he felt arms wrap around him. “Heh, what happened to all that aggression dear Roman?”

Realizing that it was Neo and she was stopping him from doing the deed....“...She gets hurt and I’m gonna enjoy cutting you to pieces.”

Hearing his tone Cinder couldn’t help but smile as she whispered in his ear, “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a short one but this is basically end of Volume 1 and next chapter will go into Volume 2. Obviously from the Roman and Neo point of view.
> 
> Expect more Roman x Neo, Roman vs Cinder (You can only handle a bitch for so long), and just more Roman and the bad guys.
> 
> Other than that, thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying my work and drop a comment if you've got a question or there something you think I could and should fix.
> 
> SC out.


	18. Breather

**A Few Weeks Later**

Pulling out his lighter to light his smoke first and got a puff out before putting it back in his pocket as he turned his attention to the three White Fang members who consisted of two males and one female based on their training clothes, “Let’s go mutts.”, taunting them to provoke some anger.

They charged at him but Roman grabbed the right arm of the first man and the left arm of the second man to use as holds as he jumped to dropkick the woman who was sent back from it. But instead of falling on his back he used the weight of the two to help pull himself and land on his feet.

Moving his hands past their arms to grab their necks to slam the two males together for a loud thud to be heard when the back of their heads clashed. Roman threw a straight at the second male for him to go down but the first one was able to recover faster and exchanged blows with Roman.

But he didn’t last long when he tried to throw a right straight and Roman met him head on with his own for them to hear a loud crack and he could see the pain in his expression. He grabbed the his right arm to pull him as he gave a heavy body blow before giving him an uppercut to the chin but as the member was looking at the ceiling hoping it was over his vision changed abruptly as Roman grabbed his head to bring him down to face head first into his knee.

Though the woman came jumping over her fallen comrades as her nails extended to claws and tried her best to just scratch Roman. She failed and attempted to feint an overheard claw strike to go for a sidekick to his body but he grabbed her leg and pushed her to the ground as her leg was facing up when they hit the mat. She tried to attack but he backhanded her arm away before knocking her unconscious with a right hook.

Getting up from the woman as he puffed out another smoke and walked a bit aways as a few other members who were watching came to drag or carry the unconscious members out of the mat. “Come on, who’s next?”

They were in a large room with a bit of a crowd consisting only the White Fang while Mercury was eating popcorn and Neo watching from a different side. What was happening was a training session, except the opponent was only ever Roman and anyone could rise up to the challenge and the ones that already did were carried away with heavy injures and usually some broken bones. It was surprising that Adam agreed to this, but it was because he figured someone could put Roman in his place....and forgetting the fact that the man was a former enforcer for years.

While he knew this was a chance for the White Fang members to beat up the human who was constantly berating them he didn’t expect that for Roman, this was actually a stress reliever for him.

The White Fang could already see the difference in experience solely when Roman changed and they could see the deep and shallow scars left on his body. Now after six singles, two doubles, one five-man team and the latest triple challenge, there was no one actually wanting to step up as Roman barely broke a sweat.

Surprising as if she appeared out of thin air he heard the steps approaching him and turned to be staring down at Emerald who wore green tight fitting top and shorts, which he had to admit she had a pretty nice looking body. “You couldn’t beat me in the rain Emmy, what makes you think you can take me on at the mat?”

“Shut up, you said anybody can challenge you. I’m challenging you.”

“You sure you’re okay with me touching you princess? I can get pretty handsy when I’m not careful.”, taunting her as he used two fingers to ‘walk’ on her right shoulder for her to swat his hand away which earned her a smile from him. “Don’t blame me if I end up coping a feel then.”

Walking back away from her as one of the White Fang members came to give her the bandages to wrap around her fists and her feet just like what Roman already has minus the little bit of blood on them.

Roman waited patiently until she had her bandages wrapped and he took his cigarette to flick it over to land into an open trash can. Raising his fists and they circled the mat studying each other...waiting for the other to make the first strike.

“Ladies first.”

“Pricks first.”, and they continued to stare each other down until Roman heard someone open the door for him to throw a right punch forward. But seeing how she was going to move out of the way he pulled it back and went for a left uppercut.

She had jumped as she blocked his uppercut and used his strength to push her up to vault over him. He turned for a back kick but felt her hand push it away as she gave two quick jabs to his lower chest and tried to uppercut his chin.

But he grabbed her arm and stopped it just in time before kicking her in the chest to push her back. Though she didn’t have time to recover when Roman reentered with a kick barely touching the side of her head before she ducked.

She tried matching his kicks and punches head on but she had to accept there was a clear physical strength difference between the too and she couldn’t let it go to an endurance match. Mid way through the fight she used her semblance on Roman for him to see Neo in front of him instead of Emerald...

But he didn’t stop and grabbed her neck as he slammed her to the ground, though she could see a smile on him as he was looking down on her, “Aw, why’d you try and be someone else Emmy? You’ve got a cute and hot side to yourself already.”

“Shut up!”, she grabbed his arm while moving her legs to wrap around his arm to his neck before using her strength to bring him down to the mat while putting his arm in an arm lock. “Tap out, or I’m breaking your arm!”

Though instead of his grip loosening it tightened and she could feel it immediately, “You first.” She kept up the lock but she noticed Roman raising his left arm before he slammed it down on her right leg.

She winced and could feel her leg giving out from him continuously hitting the same spot over and over. Eventually she lost her hold and he had turned it around to pin her down as he had his knee on her stomach which made some of the White Fang members uncomfortable and looked away since it seemed to be approaching what looked like a rape scene. “You’ve still got a long way to go Emmy.”

And he raised his fist to make her know that he was ready to put her lights out but she wouldn’t tap out and only closed her eyes ready to take it. Which actually seemed to annoy him and he got off her instead, “Get up.”, and was also to her surprise to see him hold a hand out to her.

Grabbing her hand and picking her up to her feet as he walked away from her before pointing to one of the White Fang spectators, “Knives.”

They were confused at first until it hit them and they quickly ran out the doors, “Take off the bandages Emmy.”

“What are you doing now?”, she questioned even though she listened and started taking the bandages off.

“Giving you a shot.”, and the member came back with a box to first open it to Roman as he scanned the numerous knives in the box. He eventually pulled out an exotic looking combat knife before sending the member to her.

Since there was a hole at the end of the handle of his knife he was patiently spinning it while watching Emerald eventually pick out two knives with longer blades than normal. “All you gotta do is cut me and I’ll listen and do whatever you want me to do tomorrow. Can even make me shut up for the entire day if that’s what you want.”

He flipped the knife to hold it with a reverse grip in his right hand as she readied herself, “And if I don’t?”

“Then you’re not fit to be here and I’m gonna slice your throat wide open.”, and he dashed with a strike aimed at her neck but she used both blades to block it even though he pushed it further to make her flip to avoid the blade.

As she landed on her feet she immediately tried to strike him as he still had his back turned but he waved his arm back to block her blades. Using his leg to sweep her off her feet before kicking her stomach to send her back but she stabbed the knives into the mat before rushing at him again.

Her strikes were quick and Roman had to admit that she was good dual-wielder since he felt she was constantly throwing in weak strikes to keep him guarded in some directions while putting more strength into others where it was harder for him to block with one knife.

‘Come on, find the opening and focus!”, the one thing he got from Emerald was that....she appeared to have some kind of regret or something. He knew Cinder wanted to burn the world for someone or something and Mercury gave off the vibe that he was doing all this because he found it fun but Emerald...he still hadn’t figured out why exactly she’s here.

If anything right now he had to bet Emerald was the weak link of the three and he had to somehow work her to his side....though with the current standings it’ll be difficult but he’s worked with worse and far less before.

While he kept deflecting her strikes he slowly loosened his grip on the knife until she took the bait and was able to knock away his knife while simultaneously making a cut on his left cheek, she had a surprised expression while he simply gave a smirk, “My loss, I’ll come to you first thing tomorrow morning my dear.”

Even though she was still trying to catch her breath he could tell on her face that she knew something was off...cept she dropped to one knee and Roman had to catch her to stop her from falling face first. “Hey Silver, come take your princess.”

Mercury tossed away his popcorn and came to take Emerald though she pushed herself away from Roman and glared at him before walking away. “Women,” was the one comment Roman made that Mercury nodded with though he raised the knife to block Roman’s surprise kick when he heard the metal sound again. “Finally feel up to it Merc?”

He pulled back to quickly roundhouse kick the knife and Roman noticed he kicked the blade off before tossing it away, “Neo.”, and Neo picked up his cane and tossed it to him for him to catch.

“What’s wrong Roman? Can’t hand-to-hand me?”

Spinning his cane while he took a few steps back, “I’m sure if I did I’d break my hands with whatever your legs are packing sweet pea.”

“Keep the names to the ladies Torchy.”, running to strike with a jump kick and Roman blocked but saw the flash from his shoe and moved it so the shot fired deflected to his left. But Mercury put a hand to the mat as he was falling to spin himself for another kicked aimed at Roman’s head.

Roman blocked again but pulled his cane down as it was still touching to hook Mercury's left leg and let the kick follow through as he clicked for the hook-wire to activate. He kicked Mercury’s back for him to tumble away before he quickly got back up but noticed the wire had wrapped around his left leg.

Activating the wire to retract and Roman didn’t see in ounce of pain on Mercury’s face as the wire ripped through his leg before he could see metal instead of skin. “Haha! Nice prosthetics but that’ doesn’t bode well for you my boy.”

He watched the wire still pulling before unhooking the cane as it went back to it’s original place, “And why’s that Torchy?”

“Meaning below the crotch is fair game.”, Roman fired from his cane and Mercury didn’t notice that the flare he fired was blue instead of red as he kicked it. The smoke cleared to reveal his leg was frozen.

Closing the distance to jab his cane into his stomach then hit the tip of his chin and Mercury tried to use his leg but forgot it was frozen when he felt the barrel touch his chest when he was sent flying. Crashing into the wall he could felt some pain in his back but the crash broke his iced leg free. “Alright, let's play Torchwick.”

Assuming a runner’s position before he fired from his legs to blast him as he launched a deadly flurry of kicks that Roman barely noticed he was firing from his legs to increase his speed and drastically shortened the time between each kick. So Roman waited until Mercury thought he broke his guard and attempted an axe kick which he used the time his leg was in the air to aim at the ground and fire Melodic.

As their fight continued, the spectators decreased as their fighting left the mat and took the entire training room until.....

The doors opened to reveal Cinder and she saw that the entire room was covered with damage before looking towards Mercury who was on his back but still breathing as his clothes appeared to be either scorched or had small pieces of ice while Roman was on knee and using his cane to keep him up, had numerous bruises and looked too fatigued to continue.

She stepped to the center between the two, “I think that’s enough for today, don’t you think boys?”, Mercury didn’t bother bringing his head up and just raised his right arm to give a thumbs up for confirmation.

Roman glared at Cinder which she couldn’t help but smile in response before he pushed himself up and walking over to her, “Yes, dear Roman?”

“I want a Bullhead to go back to the city.”

“It’d be better if you stayed here.”

“You can either give me a ride or I’m gonna get a ride the easier way.”, matching his glare but neither of their expressions or the tension they gave off wavered, “Do as you please.”

Waving him off as he headed to leave the room with Neo coming right behind him, _Are you okay Roman?_

“Just a little more tired than I expected.”

_Why did you want to do this anyway?_

“...I needed a breather. I don’t have to think much for fighting unless I’m aiming to lose. I’m gonna go get cleaned up and will take the bird back to the city alright?”

Nod.

\-------

After cleaning up and putting on the usual disguise Roman and Neo went to the Bullhead while the pilot was already given directions where to land. Since he was tired and knew the pilot had to take a longer way he chose to sleep, leaning on Neo where she stayed awake and watched over him.

One Bullhead ride later.....“We’ve arrived.”, the pilot spoke to them and Neo gently nudged Roman till he opened his eyes and stretched a bit before getting off when the pilot got his attention before tossing him a scroll. “That scroll has our number, call us when you want to get picked up.”

Nodding to that they stepped off to find themselves on top of a tall parking structure in what he remembered was the industrial district. They broke into and hotwired a car to leave the structure and headed for the one place that was still safe in their minds...

The club was busy as usual, though since it was the weekend they noticed more students in the crowd but they headed to the bar. Except the first thing they noticed was that Junior wasn’t at the bar so he called the bartender over, “Where’s Junior?”

“Sorry bud, I can’t answer that...”, and he was reluctant to answer when Roman tried again verbally so he tipped his shades to take off his color contacts and thats when they recognized him, “I-I’m very sorry Mr. Tor...ch, Mr. Xiong is at home taking care of his mother but the twins are in the office right now.”

“Then for the time being, no one goes into the office. Check every person that walks through the main doors with a bug detector, understand?”

“Right away sir.”, getting the order and Roman walked holding Neo’s hand as they went through the dancing crowd to eventually make it behind the DJ’s spot. They simply nodded when they noticed them and turned up the volume while they went in.

First thing they see was the twins sleeping at the desk and Neo couldn’t help but smile at their sleeping faces while Roman took a glance at what they were looking at on the desk. It was call records, possible sightings of White Fang, list of resources being smuggled and other records of illegal activity. “Guess you guys have been busy. Nice work you two”, patting the top of Melanie’s head.

Opening her eyes as she felt a warm touch on her head to first  see what looked like a suit, “Huh?”, then looking up to see Roman’s smiling face, “Roman?!”, immediately hugging him.

“Hey there Skimpy, you look tired.”, looking down at her to see bags under her eyes. “What happened? We didn’t know what to do when even Neo disappeared...”, he pointed for her to look behind to see Neo waving at her.

“Neo, why don’t you take Melanie to get something to eat? I have to make a few calls.”

 _Okay,_ helping Melanie up on her feet since she still seemed pretty out of it before she went with Neo out of the office and Roman picked up Miltia who was still sleeping to lay her in the room behind the office which had a bed inside that Junior put since sometimes he was too tired to drive back home.

After covering her up he sat down at the desk and looked over everything since being at White Fang’s HQ for a few weeks helped him pick up on aliases, callsigns, likely routes for certain resources and materials they’d obtain.

Pulling open a drawer he took out a black colored scroll and inputted the code Junior told him a long time ago when he first got this scroll. With this scroll he didn’t have to worry about any eavesdroppers listening in and if need be it could hack into whoever’s scroll and control it as long as Roman knew their number.

He dialed Glynda’s number and it rung a few times before going to her voicemail which lead him to believe she left her scroll on silent. After pressing the home button to go to the start screen he clicked on the Steel Trap icon labeled capture and spoke in a female voice with a robotic tone, [Capture last number dialed?]

“Yes.”

Showing him a loading bar first and while it was finishing he stacked the files and records onto the sides of the desk before he taped the metal plate in the center of the desk for the outline of a keyboard to light up and a screen to pop up in front of him. Checking it and the loading bar finished for the screen on the scroll to change one that was more customized and he could already feel a woman’s touch from just looking at it.

But ignoring his curiosity he went straight to the contacts and looked until he found Ozpin and dialed him...

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“It appears James is on his way here to Vale.”

“Because I’ve called him.”, turning his chair to face Glynda.

“I know his heart is in the right place Ozpin, but his way of handling things doesn’t exactly compliment what we’re doing. And I’m sure he won’t hold back when he learns how tied you are to Roman Torchwick.....even though he’s been out of contact for a few weeks...”

“You met him last Glynda, how was he doing?”

“Calm, almost relaxed, unnerved of the consequences he spoke about even though he has no reason to believe them.”, and she was hoping Ozpin would respond immediately but he hesitated as he brought his hands together.

“...He’s right to have that view about the future Glynda. The Council’s trust in me is waning and I’m certain by the time Roman can reach his ‘freedom’ from them he’ll still face the sword waiting for him....”

And he was about to continue when his scroll started to ring but when he picked it up Glynda noticed him just staring at it, “What’s wrong?”, showing her his scroll to reveal that the one calling was Glynda Goodwitch.

“What?”, pulling out her scroll to check that she was the one calling and she tried to hang up the call but nothing worked as she realized she had no control. Ozpin seeing that he could only answer, [Hello?]

Recognizing the voice, [Turn on your screens Ozzy.]

He gestured Glynda over as he turned his chair and flipped on the three screens for them to be blank.They stayed empty until static filled the screen before it flashed to show a black-haired Roman inside an office and once he was staring at them he hung up, “Can you hear me?”, talking through the speakers.

“I hear you Roman, how did you....?”

“I suggest upgrading your security system Ozzy, the fact that it took me only a few minutes to hack in and still be unnoticed isn’t exactly a good sign. By the way Glynda, sweetheart, try to answer your scroll so I don’t have to hack that either and use it for my own personal gain, and no I didn’t look at the pictures.”

Hearing that she quickly started looking through her scroll to see if he actually didn’t do anything while he had control but Ozpin kept his focus, “It’s good to see you’re well Roman.”

“Being stuck in the middle of nowhere for a few weeks does wonders for your health Ozzy, didn’t you know?”

“You mean?”

“I’ve been living at their base, but I don’t know exactly where since this is the first time I’ve actually left.”

“Can you tell us the size of their forces?”

“All I can say is that there are still more coming from the neighboring kingdoms and the weapons and dust keep pouring in. I know the next major move their pulling, but I’m not gonna tell you what it is. All I’ll tell you is that I’ll deal with what I can on my end, and I suggest you keep an eye in the direction of Mount. Glenn.....and a team of hunters ready for the aftermath.”


	19. Would You Kindly?

While he was trying to sleep in a chair with his feet up on the table and the rest of the White Fang managing dust and equipment in the background of the warehouse...”Mr. Torchwick.”...glancing first at the TV he was watching earlier to see some military general from Atlas showing off the mech that Roman was interested in a while ago and at least he now knew what it was called. A Paladin.

Turning over to the white fang member that appeared to have scales, “Can’t you see I’m trying to get some beauty sleep?”

“You have a call.”, showing the scroll to see the call was still going before he took it. [This is Dr. Torch, I’m unfortunately unavailable to conduct a home visit.]

[It’s Iris, Torchwick. I got a surprise for you.]

[It wouldn’t happen to be you in nothing but black stockings would it?]

[In your dreams. Come to the docks and bring trucks. Lots of them.]

[You know if this is a waste of time, I’m gonna have to punish you right? Don’t worry, I won’t be gentle.], hanging up the scroll to toss it back to the white fang.

“Get the heavy trucks and lets go.”, hearing his order the members quickly dropped what they were doing before getting to their vehicles. Roman put on a disguise like usual before he got into a truck after giving the destination and reminding them to all take different routes.

Though as they were driving they passed by where he could see the mech was covered with a tarp while the general looked like they were talking to other military officials and someone from the police department. But the only people that caught his eye were the only two who knew Roman was playing their side, Ozpin and Glynda, “Huh, guess you got your work cut out for you don’t you Ozzy?”

Knowing there was no other reason for the two to be there other than to see that general who Roman only remembered the first part of his name and just nicknamed him Iron-G. “We’re coming up on the docks sir.”

Pulling out a smoke to lit it before he could see the other trucks going through other streets when they went through fourways, “We got cables or rope?”

“There should be some in one of the trucks sir, why?”

Noticing the White Fang who was driving sounded and looked a bit younger than the other tones he’s dealt with, “You know about bondage kid? If she’s wasting our time, I’ll let you see something interesting.”

Roman had to admit that dealing with the White Fang had been more tolerable without Bull-boy or Fire Bitch nearby but he’d still rather have Neo by his side...Except Cinder’s been busy keeping them apart by constantly giving them separate jobs or tasks to do almost all the time.

He smoked peacefully while tipping his cap down when they passed by police cars until they got to the docks and stopped at where the warehouse Roman remembered Iris was in. Getting out of the truck first to see the rest of the trucks coming and taking up space before he went in.

He saw the usual goons before his attention gravitated to Iris who had numerous large freight crates behind her. “Good to see you Iris dear, how's the arm?”

“Better since you disappeared but I’ve called you to take your order since it’s dusting up my warehouse.”

“....Refresh my memory sweetheart, what order did I make?”

“The first time we met, you killed my men, you led the deal and you made an order for some new hardware.”, snapping her fingers for two men to pull off the tarp to reveal a mech almost identical to the one he saw during the Atlas show-and-tell in the city.

“The Atlesian Paladin-290, Atlas’ newest military weapon.”, Roman walked up to get a closer look and could see it was an earlier version if not the prototypes compared to the one he saw which was white and looked more complete but the weapons appeared to already be installed.

Knocking on the metal leg to hear the clang when he noticed Iris standing next to him, “Armed, loaded and fully functional. Because of the size theirs six per crate and there's...”, pointing to the crates for him to look.

“Seven of them, so I’ve got forty-two in total.”

“Hmm...since you so graciously delivered my order without me knowing, what do you want in return?”

She grabbed his hand and put a large key ring with a hefty amount of electronic keys on it, “This is the first and last deal between us, I disappear and we never meet ever again.”

“Aw and here I was thinking of how to propose to you on my way here. Deal.”, gripping the keys while she looked like a heavy burden was lifted from her shoulders before she left the warehouse and drove off in her car with her goons.

“Hey, back the trucks up and load the crates.”, ordering the White Fang who without question complied while he climbed the Paladin to open the hatch and drop in. “Alright where do I stick it in...?”

He looked around the cockpit until he found something a bit above and infront of him as he pulled a key from the key ring and inserted it before turning it. That’s when he could hear everything turn on and the screen lit up to show what was in front of the paladin. “Now how the hell do you move this thing...?”

Grabbing the right control handle and just moving it slightly while unknowingly pressing the trigger for the right arm of the paladin to swing and fire it’s cannon into the office to his side which shocked a bit of the White Fang members. “Bit too sensitive for my taste but....that’s why it’s an early model”, Gripping the left control while putting his feet on what appeared to be the pedals.

“Just like riding a bike.”, and steadily walking the mech’s feet while trying to get a better sense of the controls. Eventually he was able to move it with ease when he noticed one of the members waving to get his attention, popping the hatch open and got up top of the mech, “What is it?”

“Sir, there is a recruitment rally going on soon and the Lieutenant felt that you’d be able to help with the recruitment.”

“Oh really? What good would having a bastard human speaking to a bunch of human hating faunus?”

“He said you’d use that hatred to your advantage.”, rubbing his chin thinking about it when the current status of human-faunus relations went through his mind while his eyes went down to the Atlas mech he was sitting on.

Thinking about what he could say while also thinking about what he’d have in common to make it easier....“Go inform the big guy to hold the rally till I’m there,” jumping off the mech to toss the key ring to someone else.

“Half of you take the trucks and get the paladins back to the main base. You,” pointing to an older looking faunus, “Pilot this one, get to the location and cover it before the rally starts, the rest of you get in that truck. We’re gonna need more people to manage a rally.” Listening to his orders the members nodded as he got into the passenger seat while he watched the paladin exit the warehouse and jump away.

Since the truck was already filled a bit with equipment before the members got in there was now a faunus woman between Roman and his usual young driver, “You know where to go kid, get driving.”

“Y-yes sir,”, wondering why he sounded nervous and that’s when Roman actually noticed the woman was showing quite a bit more skin since it looked like more street clothes than a White Fang uniform.

“...Focus on driving kid and less staring at our driving companion’s chest.”, and he could see the driver get a bit red while the woman was covering her breasts as if being embarrassed while he was laughing on his side.

He pulled his chair back so he was in a better position to rest before he moved his hat to cover his face, “Do me a favor and wake me up when we get there sweetheart, and for the record, you look lovely.”

Though she was still covering herself he saw a hint of a smile as if she was happy with just that simple compliment, “Yes...Mr. Torchwick.”

_The usual compliments works on individuals but I doubt it’ll work on a crowd...they’re likely pissed at humans so...what specific type of person do they hate the most...._

Once they got to the location the kid got out of the truck first to go tell of Roman’s arrival while the woman was gently nudging him awake. Tipping his hat to see the woman, “We’ve arrived sir.”

“Thanks dear,” pulling his chair back up before getting out of the truck to somewhat recognize that he was at least near the highway once he saw the signs. “This way Mr. Torchwick.”, following the woman down an alleyway until they reached the end with a single metal door.

Seeing a half filled room with faunus and more coming in when he noticed that the mech was center stage but was at least covered up like he ordered. He kept his hat down as he followed the woman into what looked like a break room where the Lieutenant was but his attention moved to Neo who was writing something for a few of the White Fang members. “Mr. Torchwick.”

“I’m flattered that you think I can convert a bunch of likely human hating faunus big guy.”

Giving him a clipboard with some documents entailing past shipments and records, “Even if we haven’t spoken much I already know your words are sharper and more deadly than the blades and explosives you wield. I’m certain you’ll be even able to manipulate those whose hearts are wavering.”

“Guess I need to up my performance then.”, taking the clipboard to check out how equip management was going and seeing that the access to the underground transit under Mount Glenn was running smoothly.

“I’ll go start the rally and introduce you soon.”, nodding to that the Lieutenant passed him and walked out along with the other members of the White Fang leaving only Roman and Neo who finally noticed him.

“Tired cupcake?”, and she simply nodded before he hugged her, “How’s Fire Bitch been treating you?”

 _She’s gives me orders to keep me busy but she doesn’t stick around to talk much._ ... _How are you doing?_

“Other than constantly being around idiots and missing you all the time, just peachy.”, giving a slight kiss on her lips which made them both cheer up a bit but it was mainly just seeing each other again.

“Sir, you’re up.”

Nodding to that and he started heading for the door with Neo behind him, “No rest for the wicked huh Neo?”

Walking out and towards the center stage he could hear the Lieutenant’s voice, “Thank you all for coming. For those of you joining us for the first time tonight allow me to introduce a special comrade of ours....”

The crowds murmurs grew louder as they noticed Roman walking towards the stage, “...I can assure you that he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long!”, once on stage in full view he had on his smirk ready.

“What a big crowd tonight!”

“What’s a human doing here?!”, seeing a female faunus.

“Glad you asked deerie. I’ll be the first to admit, that humans are the worst, case in point.”, pointing to himself as he tipped his hat. “So I understand why you all would love to see us locked up or better yet killed for being so.”

Saying that earned cheers from the White Fang members and more than a few from the potential recruits while a certain pair were wondering if he was thinking straight...

But, before the claws come out I’d like to mention the fact that you and I all have two common enemies. The ones in control, the ones pulling the strings, the filthy humans that run our kingdoms, your homes. Governments, military, even the schools too, but let's not forget who influences the puppeteers. The greedy humans that get rich off your pain and suffering, and pay to make sure it stays that way and they’re all the ones to blame for everything wrong with your lives.”, the screams of agreement filled the room.

“They’re all pests, and pests like them need to be exterminated. Fortunately I’m the best exterminator in Remnant, no offense to the rodents in the room.”, snapping his fingers for the tarp to come off and reveal the Atlesian Paladin with the mark of the White Fang’s symbol tagged on it.

“As some of you might have heard, this right here,” tapping the mech’s metal leg, “..is Atlas newest military weapon to fight against all the scary things in the world. And with my connections we’ve managed to snag a few dozen before they hit the field. Now, many of your brothers and sisters have already moved to our new operation in the southeast. But before you say anything, let me ask you this.”

“To those that are still indecisive or think this isn’t the way to get what you want, aren’t you tired of this bullshit?”, it was strangely silent as people in the crowd were looking to each other and can easily see who was with White Fang’s ideals and who weren’t...yet.

“Are you fine with how things are? Being seen as inferior beings, hell how many of your children are called monsters for looking different? Peace and idleness will only make your suffering longer and harsher because those rotten humans will only get worse. You want to be seen as equals and get respect, than you gotta get it with force. Now, do you want to continue letting those bastards bend you over and be their bitch for years to come, or are you gonna join us and show that you are as good if not better and stronger than them? If you’re ready to fight for your right than this is the arsenal I can provide to get you what you’re missing...Any more questions?”, and the answer was clear as the room filled with a roar of applause.

With that he stepped back to lean against the Paladin’s right leg next to Neo while the Lieutenant took to the center once more. “Now that you’ve heard our comrade and know what we can do, will all new recruits please come forward.”

_Letting out some of your own resentment Roman?_

“Hah...I guess I’m just a little tired and my own thoughts came out. How was my performance?”, she responded by smiling while clapping.

“Cute as ever.”, though as he saw the line was still moving his eyes caught a certain black feline called Blake and golden primate known as Sun. “...All these kids are giving me a headache...”, feeling annoyed since whenever they showed up his plans and moves always get fucked.

At this point he felt that just kidnapping these troublemakers and leaving them in some dungeon until everything was over would make his life a whole lot easier.

That’s when Blake transformed Gambol Shroud into its gun-form and shot the electrical box to shut the lights. There was a commotion but Roman was able to at least still somewhat see, “Get a bullhead Neo.”, tapping her shoulder and she nodded as she went for an exit.

Roman scanned the crowd to see them climbing the walls for the windows, “Stop them!”, while the White Fang were trying to mobilize Roman got into the Paladin to hear the mechanized sound of it powering on. Now being able to see clear as the pair broke through the window he  gripped the controls for the mech to burst through the brick wall.

Seeing them run along the roofs of houses he chose to stick to the open roads and kept chase as he fired missiles which they dodged yet it forced them to jump and lands on cars driving the highway. Using the arms to push away the bigger cars while jumping over the smaller ones as he was slowly closing the distance between him and the faunus pair.

But as he was only a car away, “Ugh!”, the mech shook as signs popped up on screen detailing damage to the rear before it showed a smaller screen to reveal Yang and some blue haired kid on her motorcycle behind him. Seeing bigger cars up ahead while the distance between him and Blake and Sun had widen he swung the arms to knock up the cars to hopefully make Yang crash.

Though he wasn’t surprised the busty firecracker was a good driver as he saw on screen she was able to dodge and get past the wreckage with ease. Then the blue haired kid’s rifle transformed into some spear as he jumped and landed on the mech while the blade pierced through the armor into the cockpit to barely touch his shoulder. “Fine, you’re in for a ride now!”

To shake him off he slammed the paladin into numerous big rigs and could see him barely hanging on yet didn’t notice Sun’s attacks from his semblance until the damage pop-ups showed up on screen. Refocusing on what was in front of him to see Sun leap from a car for an attack with his staff but he jerked the paladin hard enough for Neptune’s weapon to loosen and flew off to crash into Sun before he swung the mech’s arm to smack them off the highway.

While he kept the chase on he saw Weiss fall from a higher road to land and charged to strike but the mech’s footing was disrupted when Weiss froze the ground, causing him to slide and break through the rails. He fortunately landed feet first on the ground but saw Ruby on screen when the rest of her team landed next to her.

He turned up the volume so they could hear from the speakers, “You brats are starting to piss me off now.”

“Freezerburn!”, Ruby and Blake jumped back as Weiss froze the ground and Yang jumped up to slam her fist while firing for the ice to explode, turning it into a thick fog.

To counter Roman turned on the detectors as he carefully walked through the thick fog until it detected movement for him to fire where they were. Though they were too fast and his shots weren’t connected and fired where two of the figures were about to clash.

But seeing them get out of the just in time before Ruby came through the cover of the explosion to strike while firing a heavy sniper bullet to blast her back. “Checkmate!”

Blake and Weiss charged in and Roman could only step back since they were too close to his legs to fire without damaging the mech itself. That was until Weiss leapt to stab the main detector for him to lose that function before he raised his left leg to try and stomp Blake but she moved back fast enough.

Though as they were retreating back Roman saw an opening and fired to blast Weiss away before she used her semblance on Blake while he fired a missile barrage. But he watched as Blake moved at high speed as she sent a massive amount of wave blades to effectively destroy all the missiles he sent.

“Ladybug!”, seeing Ruby and Blake continue to strike as the damage pop ups kept coming up until they jumped high in the sky to come like a blade as they sliced off the left arm. His attention on the damage screen for it to mention that left arm was offline made him forget as Yang jumped on the back and did a vicious assault as the cockpit lights and all his screens were flashing red.

Using the camera to see her still smashing the paladin before he noticed the highway supports behind them so he stomped on the pedals as he forced the paladin to jump back and smashed himself and Yang through three concrete pillars to make her fall off. As he turned he reequipped the fist on the right arm as he smashed a falling Yang through another pillar and into the ground.

That’s when he recognized the Yang’s glowing hair and knew what that meant, “Sigh...always gotta break my toys.”, already accepting what was gonna happen next but he still had to fight to keep up the act since he noticed a flew Bullheads in the sky.

He charged at Yang to thrust the mech’s right arm and clashed with Yang whose punch stopped him dead in his tracks. Then her second punch had literally shattered the arm to pieces but she was wide open and jerked the left leg to kick Yang away.

But saw Blake rope Yang back in when Weiss and Ruby combined to fire heavy sniper bullets that caused pieces of the paladin to freeze on impact. He chuckled as he was immobilized and simply lit another cigarette as Yang came flying in to destroy the mech with powerful punch.

Rolling from the remains of the paladin as he dusted himself off, “You really don’t hold back do you Blondie.” Seeing her pull back her fist before punching to see her fire a shot from her gauntlet and while only Blake noticed he didn’t move but just smiled with the oncoming shot.

He smiled cause Neo dropped in with her opened parasol and blocked the shot completely, but the air around her and her grin seemed completely different from her usual character. “Ladies. Ice Queen”

“Hey!”, hearing Weiss’s whine while he took a puff and looked towards them, “It’s been fun girls.”

Looking to Neo, “Neo, would you kindly?”, she nodded before turning back to curtsy with a bow towards them which clearly annoyed Yang as she charged to throw punch...only to break an image as it shattered like glass to find them gone.

But the roar of the turbines made them turn fast enough to see Roman tip his hat to them and Neo blowing a kiss as they escaped on a Bullhead. Roman and Neo sat in the seats as the Bullhead closed, “Wanna get a drink Ice Cream?”

Nod.


	20. Among Thieves

Hearing the sounds of movement she awakens to see...for some reason, a disguised Roman playing poker with Mercury in the dorm room that was provided for them while Cinder and Neo appeared to be already gone. “Wha...what the hell are you doing?”

“Morning sleeping beauty, and we’re gambling if you couldn’t see with those pretty eyes of yours.”, waving some lien for her to see as he dropped it with the rest of the stack.

Mercury sighed, “Fold.”, lowering his hand while Roman accepted his win and the spoils, “What are you doing here Roman?”

“I lost our sparring match remember? What do you want me to do sweetheart?”, seeing his smirk which annoyed her while Mercury waved to catch her attention, “Boss lady says to take a break today since Taurus’ group is still working on the transit. I’ve got some stuff to take care of so just you and Torchy today but shorty might drop in later.”

Then left the room while Roman sat at the end of Emerald’s bed. “So, what are our plans for today?”

At first Roman wondered why it always felt fun to be around Emerald despite her clear dislike of him, then he remembered how entertaining the young girl’s reactions were to his usual taunts and flirting. “First things, first. Get your ass off my bed.”

“Oh? But it's the nicest smelling bed here.”, she tried to kick him off but he caught her foot and twisted it just slightly enough to make her feel the burn and turn her over a bit. “I’m trying to be polite here Emmy dear, the least you could do is say please.”

“...Would you please let go of my leg and get off my bed?”, staring him down a for a few seconds before he smiled as he let go, “Now was that so hard?”, then got off her bed.

She got out of her bed to grab her clothes before heading to the bathroom, “Don’t touch my stuff, and if you peek I’ll gouge out your eyes.”

Waving her off to go with her shower and waited until the water was running to stick a bug under her bed and one in the light that was in the ceiling. After that he tried to go through their stuff as cleanly as possible but in the end they didn’t write anything pertaining to Cinder’s exact goals or any future move she is going to make...

_Hmmmm what I know now is that I’m suppose to be on the train after it makes its destination, but considering the Atlas General is here it’d mean I’d be arrested and I doubt Atlas military would let someone like me be handled by the regular boys in blue....does that mean I’ll be taken to the flagship?_

_It would be the easiest way on board and if it’s the flagship then it’d have control over the tin cans they always have with them...does she have a virus ready for it?_

_...In the end it sounds like I’d be sitting my ass in a cell...and I’d rather avoid that._

“Hey Perv, what are you doing?”, hearing that he realized he stopped pacing and was just standing still in the middle of the room while Emerald apparently finished showering. “I’m simply wondering how troublesome it must be to share such a small room with three other people.”

Turning to her as he eyed her figure,  “By the way, are you always this alluring out of the shower?”, giving a wink which she seemed to dismiss as she went to picked up pieces of her attire.

And even with his gaze she got dressed by ignoring his presence, “You really don’t like me do you Emmy?”

“I could do without your personality and your annoying mouth....my name is Emerald.”, watching her as she was looking for something and he noticed she only missing her belts from her attire.

Glancing around to see the end of the belt hanging from the hook on the closet door under a jacket, “Fortunately there’s nothing I can do about those two...” grabbing the belts before tapping her shoulder for her to turn as he already wrapped the belts around her waist, “And Emmy is quicker to say, less syllables are my personal preference.”

Half expecting her to either push him back or attempt to slap him because his hands were on her but instead he was met with an indifferent expression...which Emerald learned to go with or with a hard front whenever she had to deal with Roman, the few times she’d think she would anyway. Just anything to prevent giving him something to jab her with, since he always did whenever he could. “Now there's a surprise.”

“You just gonna stand there looking or are you gonna finish up?”, giving her usual attitude minus the uncomfortable vibe only left him the choice to smile and comply as he fixed her belts up to how it usually was.

“Well then, what’s the plan today Em?”

“You’re really gonna stick with me aren’t you?”

“Well since Cinder has so graciously put my identity in every rent a cop and officers’ sight and reminded some bad people of my existence I simply cannot just go out and do things I’d regularly do by myself now can I?”

“....Fine, just stop talking for a bit and follow me.”, he chuckled before going to the door and didn’t say anything other than gesturing her to lead the way. She left with Roman behind her and while he saw some familiar faces and even walked past a few he remained quiet and followed Emerald as they headed for the transport.

Since it was the weekend the transport was packed like usual so Emerald had to deal sitting right next to Roman. “Mind if I ask something Emmy?”

“What?"

“How’s school life? Is it interesting?”

“Why you ask? You miss it?”

Roman noticed a small young girl looking at him as she was sat across with what he figured was their mother. “You’ve read my file haven’t you? I haven’t been in the educational system since I was seven.”, he pulled a playing card to show the child to reveal it was a normal card.

“Huh..sounds like you shouldn’t be as smart as you are now.”

“Reading is still good way to up your vocabulary Emmy, try it sometime. And just sticking to the streets, the bad ones anyway, will help you learn everything you need to know and more.”, tapping the card for the child to understand they were suppose to pay attention to which face it was. (Red Diamond Jack)

He rolled up his sleeves to show that he had nothing, then he turned it so they saw only the back of the card as he kept eye-contact with the kid. Simply turning it around to show a different face which the kid noticed. (Black Spade Queen)

Though he wasn’t expecting Emerald to pay attention to what he was doing and wouldn’t have noticed until he took a glance at her.

Roman continued to spin the card for the girl to notice that every other face shown during his spinning showed the other face until he stopped to show the face of the Red Jack then flipped to reveal the Black Queen. He could see the disbelief in her eyes and offered her the card.

The mother had already noticed by the time the young girl told her about it and gestured her it was alright and she took the card. She inspected it herself to see that it was one playing card but there was no back and both sides were a face.

Seeing is believing and so she did before Roman extended a hand for her to give back the card. “Mind checking it too sweetheart?”, offering the card to Emerald for her to glance to see the kid’s attention on her as she took it.

Emerald tried hard to see if it was two cards stuck together but found that it was still one playing card even though one side was the Red Jack and the other was the Black Queen. Eventually she gave it back to Roman as he held it up in front of the kid except this time he held it horizontally to show her the Jack, then flipped to show the Queen.

Then as she was staring intensely to see what would happen. She could hear the tear as Roman appeared to rip the card in half, except he revealed to have two complete cards, the Jack in his right and the Queen in his left.

The girl clapped for the simple trick and Roman tried hard not to notice Emerald’s smile from seeing the kid’s happy little moment.

_Well...at least you smile at a child’s innocence...._

Feeling the transport stop before the doors opened up and people begun to leave. And they eventually got to her jeep she got from the impound but instead she told Roman to drive which he did.

They're first stop was a weapons shop and there were only a couple of people who looked like students from Beacon. He followed her as she was browsing the daggers that were lined up at the far wall from the cash register, “Looking for an upgrade?”

“Do you not know the meaning of personal space?”, seeing as he was constantly looking over her shoulder, “Hmm...most of these don’t fit your style.”, stealing the dagger from her hand to spin it before letting it fly to eventually drop in line with the rest of the daggers.

“How would you know my style?”

“Cause we have a bit in common.”

She turned around and pushed him back before seeing his usual smug face, “We have nothing in common.”

Making sure to see that no one was close enough to hear but spoke in a lower voice so only she could hear, “We’re both street rats, both of our hands are already stained with blood and most importantly...”

Stepping closer as he pulled his left hand from his back, one of Emerald’s weapons, “We’re both thieves.”, she checked herself to see that she wasn’t missing just the one but missing both and looked back to see him holding both of her weapons.

She attempted to take them back but he raised them up out of her reach until he saw her getting pissed and let his grip go for one of them to drop into her hands. Though he inspected the other one and started to aim at the hanging target boards. “Though, I’m more a fan of automatic weapons rather than revolvers but using the basics has its merits I suppose.”

“Sometimes precision is the better choice,”, and she punched his left side but he wasn’t fazed as he still staring at the hanging target through her weapon’s iron sights. She tried to punch again but this time he stopped it with his left hand before lowering her weapon and handed it back with the handle to her. “Are we done here?”

Holstering her weapons when she noticed the clerk looking they’re way, “Yeah, we’re done.”, and she grabbed his arm to lead them back out of the store. Until, “Hold it!”, they turned to see it was the clerk calling out to them.

“Wait you two.”

Roman took the initiative and lightly pushed Emerald behind him as he step forward, “There a problem sir?”

“Empty your pockets.”

He chuckled as he answered the man with a smiling face, “Are you insinuating we stole something sir?”

“You two were near the weapons for awhile and we’re being suspicious, so empty your pockets!”

“..Very well, allow me to humor you.”, reaching down his pockets to only pull out a wallet and the keys to Emerald’s jeep. “Hmm...It seems I’m clear..”, before putting his personal effects back in his pockets while the clerk eyed him.

“You’re girlfriend needs to empty them too,” and as he was about to reach past Roman to grab Emerald’s hand he was stopped and Roman twisted his arm for the man to winch in pain, “Now, you’re overstepping your bounds don’t you think?”

“L-let me go you bastard..”

“Oh? But I’m fearful for my companion since you appear to look at her with lust in your eyes. How about you go back to your little shop before I make things a little fun?”, and twisted his wrist to her the slight sounds of a crack.

“Oh-oh okay, just let me go!”, and eventually he let go for the man to quickly retreat back to his store as he turned back to open the door for Emerald. Once they got in and he started the car he waited, “What’d you get?”

She already knew what he was asking and didn’t bothering beating around the bush as she pulled out the one exquisite looking dagger from the line up, “See? We’re similiar...though you could’ve done better.”

“Oh, so you can do better?”, he smirked and lifted his shirt for her to back up at first before she saw he revealed four daggers and knew they were different because of their varying handles, were strapped to him but recognized them from the line up. “Yes, I’m positive I can do better.”

Emerald had to admit she was a bit surprise seeing how much he stole before looking back up to meet with his eyes, “Best two out of three Emmy?”, she made a face that he couldn’t help but laugh before she hit him out of what he figured was annoyance for his laughter.

“Head for the boutique near the park.”

“Your wish is my command Princess.”, and hit the gas to quickly make his way to their next stop.

“You didn’t strike me as the dress type Emmy, considering how exotic your usual attire is.”, watching her pick out dresses though when she glanced behind she occasionally saw him ogle her body.

“There’s a dance, and obviously I can’t go wearing this or the uniform.”

“Wow, tempered Emmy is going to a dance, try not to burn all the boys who ask you for a dance huh?’ and he ducked before he almost caught a clothing hanger to the face “Haven’t you been to one idiot? Not everything is chaos.”

He shrugged before he started browsing through the dresses without even knowing her dress size, “Well I’m sure this school dance party is the perfect time for a certain someone to make their move when security is probably the thinnest, am I right?”

Inspecting a few dresses, “You’re not getting anything out of me.”

He tapped her shoulder before holding a green dress up in front of her to imagine how it would it look, “I don’t have to, how you respond to yes or no questions usually gives me the answer. And I’ve grown to understand Cinder a little bit to guess what she plans to do.”

Gesturing her to try the dress he picked out, “Don’t push your luck Torchwick.”, but she still took the dress and headed to the changing room. Roman sat in the chair in front of the changing room that Emerald went in while he could overhear familiar voices.

“How does this dress look Weiss?”, hearing Ice Queen’s name made him turn just enough to where he could see Ruby holding out a dress to Weiss and Yang but he didn’t see Blake.

“Hmm...it’s not bad, but doesn’t feel like you.”

“Come on sis, pick something more exciting! This might even be your chance to find a boyfriend!”, hearing Yang’s usual push but Roman ignored it as he pulled out his scroll and a pair of headphones to listen to some classical music as he waited.

Though he had to tip his hat down when he noticed that Blake was actually looking at some dresses only a few inches away from him. It didn’t look like she even noticed his presence but Roman was slowly reaching up his shirt to get a grip on one of the daggers he stole.

She paused for a second and he was about to pull out the dagger as if she caught him but she continued to look through dresses when she didn’t noticed her wallet fall out of her pocket. He zipped up his jacket to cover the lower half of his face before he picked up the wallet and tapped her shoulder. Not even bothering to wait for her to respond as he grabbed her hand and placed the wallet in her hand before returning back to his seat, “Um...Thank you?”

Because of how fast it was it didn’t process well and she didn’t pursue when Yang called her over.

_How long does it take to put on a dress...seriously..._ , but he moved his eyes to look when she moved the curtain to allow him to see the green dress on her. He had to admit that it looked pretty good on her but obviously he wouldn’t say that out right. “Wow, you finally look like a normal person Emmy.”

“Tch...asshole.”

“I aim to please.”, getting up from the chair and spinning her around to look at the dress from her back and her sides. “It could be better, but it is just a school dance so anything more than this would be pointless.”

“Though I actually need to make a stop by after you pay, you mind?”

\-----

Following him through the floor of a working factory, “Where are we going?”

She noticed that none of the workers paid them no mind and even the one who looked like the manager only just tipped their cap before turning away. “You’ll see.”, and gestured her into the elevator before he brought down the gate and pressed the button.

She waited patiently on one side of the elevator while Roman took to leaning against the back wall of the elevator before playing games on his scroll......“How long is this elevator?”

“They’ve done some expanding so....about thirty more minutes,” telling her after checking the time. “You wanna play?”, offering her his scroll to see some fighting game. After about five minutes of still waiting she eventually walked over to him and played the game while he smoked peacefully.

She got into it pretty quickly and to pass the time Roman pointed out and helped her do the more brutal combos and finishers until the elevator stopped for the gate to open up by itself to reveal what Roman was already familiar with, “What is this?”

Seeing some kind of marketplace before she saw someone fall out of window to land hard on the ground with a blade in his stomach, though she winched when four other men came out of the building and started kicking him while he was down.

Roman snapped his fingers to get her attention, “Welcome to Tartarus, Vale’s fucked up little brother.” and presented it as some time of show when she looked past him to see young children with chained collars and mostly faunus women that appeared to be prostitutes.

“...Why are we here?”

“I need to pick up an order and...I need a drink to be honest but stick close to me. An exotic beauty like you will go for a high price you know?”, and after saying that he offered her his arm.

She seemed hesitant until she started to notice that more and more eyes move towards her, some looked at her with lust while others looked with much worst intentions. Emerald locked arms with Roman and walked with his pace as they traveled through this hellish marketplace, “You know it’s refreshing to see you nervous like this Emmy.”

Though her focus was seeing the dealings and the clear hostility between every other person that crossed paths. But Roman noticed her grip on his arm had slowly tightened before he followed where she was looking to see a young faunus girl, who couldn’t have been more than fifteen looked like she was about to be the victim of a gangrape, “Don’t pay too much attention Emmy. Things get worse when you start to focus.”

Eventually they made their way to a worn out shop but it was completely stocked with weapons ranging from blades, axes, bows, to guns, assault rifles and explosives. The old man at the counter took one look at Roman as he came walking up, “Ah Torchwick, some of the boys and girls have been looking for you, you know? Elena’s been wanting to see you too.”

“I just came for a pick up Luke and I’ll pop by Elena’s club since I need a drink anyway.”

“Right, I got your stuff way in the back so be right back.”, and he got up from his stool to slowly make his way for the back door labeled storage. Though Roman noticed Emerald looking out the windows, “You know if Cinder gets what she wants, it’ll be worse than this hellhole Emerald.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Trust me, I know when someone just wants to watch the world burn by their hands. But the question is, do you also share her desires Emerald?”, walking over to her to carefully place his hands on her shoulders but she didn’t push him away.

“I’ve been running this through my mind for awhile now, but what reason do you have to work under Cinder?”

She looked away from him as he was talking to her from her right side, “What kind of question is that....my loyalty to her is the only thing that matters.”

“Keep telling yourself that dear, but remember that you’re a thief and theres only two kinds of thieves in this world. Ones that seek the fame and glory for being able to steal from even the gods, and the others that seek purely for the spoils, they’ll aim for the richest and deal with anyone getting in their way.”

“If you’re truly doing this because of blind loyalty then you’re more of an idiot than I thought you were, and killing you here and now would be a mercy granted to you.”, she turned and pushed him away.

“What do you know?!”

Dusting off his jacket, “Unlike Mercury who looks like he takes joy in beating others to the ground, you still have moral values. You smiled at that kid’s happiness and you looked disturbed at that girl about to be violated or those kids being sold in the market when Cinder wouldn’t even have bat an eye at them.”

“Anyone would be disturbed by that kind of shit!”

“You know her better than I do and you know that isn’t true for her, even she’d violate that girl or would sell those kids if she had the chance herself. Now tell me what do you gain from her actions huh?”

She looked about ready to pull her weapons but Roman noticed her hesitation and was about ready to pull out the stolen daggers to fight her back if he had too...but the tension was broken when the sound of the door from the back made them cool down. Roman turned back to the old man who struggled to put two large heavy metal cases on the counter, he revealed one to be ammunition for Roman’s cane while simply telling him that it was ready while pointing at the second case.

Then he turned when he heard the front door open to see Neo waving at him, he grabbed the cases and walked towards Emerald, “You know the way out right? Have fun at your dance, send me a picture.”, smiling as if the tension between them earlier never happened.

Though he stopped when he was with Neo at the door and addressed Emerald one last time, “I don’t know her end-game but I know one thing. Hundreds if not thousands of people are gonna die because of her and you’re gonna help her because of whatever reason. Think about it, and let me know your thoughts next time we have lunch.”


	21. Crash and Burn

“Mr. Torchwick. Lieutenant, sir.”, a White Fang saluted as they entered the room and addressed the two key figures while they were sat in front of a screen, playing a fighting game. Neither of them turned as they were focused on the match but the Lieutenant responded.

“Report.”

“Yes sir. The train is now operational and seventy percent of the bombs have been primed. We’re still loading the paladins but expect to have them and the remaining bombs ready in less than an hour.”

“I’ll be right out then.”, acknowledging that the member left the room.

“Sounds like things are going smoothly huh big guy?”

“It’s fortunate that we found a more detailed map before we begun opening up the ground. Not to mention how quickly they were able to make a working freight elevator. Though it’s surprising that no one has come to investigate with the amount of damage we’ve done.”

“They used to have sentries and would have small squads of young hunters and huntresses nearby but since Vale considered it a lost cause they pulled back all personnel and just left a warning sign.”

“Did they not know about this underground transit?”

“They probably did later down the road but obviously the government and other leaders of Vale wouldn’t let it be known that it exists. Mount Glenn is considered a failure and Vale’s worst decision because of how poorly defensible it was, but if it was known that the government pulled out while there were survivors hidden underground then you can imagine the response from the public right?”

The Lieutenant looked like they were thinking a bit before they got it, “Ah, the people would think that the government had left its people to die and...”

“And the government would lose trust and whatever shit they think they have with the people and in turn lose power. Like you guys have always been spewing, humans are the worst creatures alive.”

Eventually the Lieutenant made a mistake and Roman got the last hit in for the victory screen to pop up, “I’ve been wondering about this for awhile, but compared to the other members you seem to have the worst view on human beings Mr. Torchwick. Why is that?”

Roman disconnected his scroll from the screen to put it away before lighting a cigar, “Ah....I’m not gonna go and admit that I’ve been through the hell you and rest of the White Fang have been. But I’ll say that I’ve seen what humans really are under their masks, in reality I’d rather be friends with the person who openly wants to kill me rather than the snake who hides behind a mask to get close to me.”

The Lieutenant put away his scroll and let Roman’s words sink in before he got up, “I see, thank you for telling me. I’ll go oversee the rest of the preparations and we’ll likely be leaving shortly Mr. Torchwick.”

Smoking peacefully and surprisingly quietly though....“They’re gonna show again aren’t they...”, saying to himself that everything has been going **too smoothly** without so much as even a small hiccup that he could feel a thorn coming up.

In all honesty he was annoyed he hadn’t seen or heard of team RWBY’s troublesome actions, it would have made trying to sabotage equipment much easier than the pain he had to go through. But he remembered that they were still students and figured there was some restrictions they couldn’t afford breaking.

_You can be a hunter_....“Hah, Roman Torchwick a hunter? What a joke.”, getting up and heading for the door to open it. He opened it to the underground station and saw the White Fang members still loading up the train to his left. Walking around to look at the ruins of the mini city though he was surprised they didn’t find as many skeletons when more personnel was brought here.

He considered the amount of people that supposedly could have work to build everything here yet the amount of skeletons didn’t match. “...Did the Grimm just eat more of them or...do Grimm even eat people? They just turn to mist after being killed anyway so I guess nobody can dissect them and find out if they have any stomachs.”

Suddenly wondering about the anatomy of the creatures that put every intellectual species in Remnant on hold from expansion, but as usual was interrupted, “Mr. Torchwick sir.”

“Sigh, yes?”, turning around as the interesting thought disappeared and he turned to his usual poker face.

“The Lieutenant suggested that you be at the front of the train to give orders over the speakers webuilt in.”

Taking a puff, “Alright.”, though he stopped like the rest of the members close by as they heard a loud crash. “Owwie...”, turning to swat away the dust for it to eventually clear for him...and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Ah, my sweet red princess. You always come at the most inconvenient times you know?”

Ruby looking dazed before she snapped and noticed Roman before seeing the White Fang members, “Oh...uh...hi...”, giving an awkward wave before she bolted up to immediately run in the opposite direction.

The White Fang were about to raise their guns before Roman gestured them to stop, then popped the reticle to aim before flipping his cane to fire the grappling hook. And the hook caught Ruby’s hood to stop her dead in her tracks as he simply pressed the button for the wire to pull her back.

Once the wire pulling her had come to a stop she looked up to see a smiling Roman, “H-hey..”

“Hey Red, sorry bout the love tap.”

Confused, “Love..tap?”, and he raised his foot to kick her head even though he felt like it was hitting a barrier and figured her aura activated on reflex. Yet the force still knocked her unconscious.

“Hey, go fetch some rope.”, addressing one of the white fang members as they listened and ran to go get it for him. Roman relit his cigar since Ruby’s drop was enough to blow out his fire before he knelt down to search through her pockets until he found her scroll.

He looked through the photos to at least confirm she was indeed with her team and they were at least on the surface with one other man who looked like some professor. Though when the White Fang came back and tapped his shoulder he accidently flipped to her music to hear Weiss’ voice from her scroll.

“Huh, even if she is your partner you don’t strike me as the type for this kind of music Red.”, and he set the scroll aside to listen to what sounded like Weiss’ old performance while he began tying Ruby up.

Though as he was finishing up the music stopped and instead her ringtone was going off for him to see that Yang was calling her. Picking it up to only stare at it for a few seconds, “Turn off the jammer.”

Addressing one of the members who nodded and talked into a handheld radio before giving him a thumbs up. Taking the call, [Ruby! Where are you?!]

Looking at Ruby to gently move her hair out of her face to see if there any marks...but like hunters her aura had reduced any chance of physical injuries. [Ruby, why aren’t you answering?]

[Little Red is sleeping Blondie.]

[Torchwick.....YOU BASTARD IF YOU DAR-]

[SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR ONE MINUTE YOU HOT BLOODED BITCH!], and hearing the silence on the other line he could tell that surprised even her while glancing at the White Fang members who were taking steps away from him.

[You calmed down now?]

[....What have you done with Ruby?]

[Nothing, and I don’t plan to because I don’t have a reason too. Here’s what's gonna happen, I’m gonna leave her exactly where she is because I know you, Ice Queen, Kitty and that professor with you is smart enough to find her in the next ten to twenty minutes. Once you get her you’re gonna leave and that’ll be the end of the day and everyone goes home a winner.]

[How can we trust what you’re saying?]

[You can’t but there's one last thing I’m gonna say to you Blondie.]

[What?], hearing the anger in her voice and he knew to expect some punishment the next time they meet. But he made sure the White Fang were far enough before he spoke in a low voice, [Call Ozpin and tell him it’s coming.]

Noticing that Ruby was waking up while also hearing the confusion in Yang’s voice, [Wait wha?]

[Later sweetheart.], Ruby now wide awake as she looked up to Roman who held her scroll.

“Wha?”, he covered her mouth to stop her from speaking while he slipped her scroll back in her pocket and used his body to cover as he loosened the rope on her hands. She wondered what he was doing but was surprised that he leaned forward for his face to be closer but she heard him clearly as he whispered in her ear, “Wait for backup Red.”

She looked at him as certain thoughts were going through her mind before he pulled back to only show her his smile while gesturing her to stay quiet before he got up and walked back to the White Fang and the train. “Come on boys and girls, let’s get this show on the road.”

Listening to him without question as they ignored Ruby and began boarding the train when they heard an explosion while Roman was the last one to board the train and the only one still on the outside to see the rest of team RWBY and the professor come running as Ruby got out of the loosened ropes to meet them halfway.

\-------

“Ruby, are you okay?!”, rushing to hug her little sister before Professor Oobleck handed Ruby her scythe.

“I’m okay but they’re getting away!”, pointing to the train as they saw Roman enter and it starting to leave.

“Come on!”, leading the group as they chased the train. When Blake got her attention, “Ruby...did Torchwick say anything strange to you?”

Thinking of the words he whispered, “He told me to wait for you guys. Why?”

Weiss answered, “When Yang screamed at him over the phone he responded violently, but it seemed almost forced and...”

Yang, followed up, “And he told us to call Ozpin.”

“Ozpin...why?”

Jumping on to the train in time, “I don’t know...but we better ask him when we’re back at Beacon.”

\-------

At the front of the train stood only Roman and one other White Fang member known as Percy since he sent the others to go fight off the huntresses. But since they outfitted the camera with new cameras he saw how easily they decimated the paladins and the White Fang.

He also watched as when they made a good distance Percy would disengage the locks connected the cables car for them to explode shortly after. Continuing to watch the security cameras as Yang, Blake and Weiss entered the cars for them to encounter Neo.

Walking up to stand next to Percy, “Little girls just don’t listen do they Percy?”

“Sir?”

“You know you caused me a bit of trouble taking those pictures awhile back you know?”

Feeling the tension in his voice he started to slowly walk to the side and away from Roman as he was lighting a cigarette, “I-i’m sorry I was just doing my job. It was nothing personal...”

Though he wasn’t able to react fast enough when Roman pulled him to suddenly feel an intense pain as blood dripped from his mouth when he looked down to see he was stabbed, “Nothing personal Percy, just can’t have witnesses.”

His hand now bloody he grabbed Roman’s left shoulder but Roman responded by stabbing him seven times until he finally let go of him yet trailed blood on his coat before he fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Tossing the knife away for it to fall behind a crate as he stepped to the control panel, he continued to follow the pattern of disengaging the locks for the cable cars to explode according to the plan though he kept his eyes on the cameras.

Neo was giving Yang hell as she couldn’t even touch the little ice cream but he was surprised to see the Lieutenant put up quite the fight before Weiss gave Blake the opening to get behind him and....he heard the sliding door open but didn’t even look.

“Step away from the panel Torchwick.”, ignoring her as he looked at how far from their destination they were before inputting specific commands to withhold disengaging the last explosive cable car and to hard break at a certain point on the track.

“Torchwick!”, hearing her yell at him before he heard the blade beam when he turned to fire a white flare to block it. “I heard you the first time Kitty.”

Though as he addressed her he saw her eyes trailed to the dead White Fang on the ground, “...Did you kill him?”

“...Does it matter? You’ve got a job to do Kitty and it's standing right in front of you.”, readying his cane as she readied herself as well but she knew something was wrong with him. Seeing as she wasn’t making the first move he charged forward for a downward swing to connect with her shadow, except it was made of stone and stuck his cane.

“Got some new tricks huh?”, trying to pull out his cane but it was stuck tight when she shot another purple blade beam but he fired another flare though it only broke the bottom part of the blade and he had to step aside to dodge the rest.

Raising his left foot he focused aura like one would to shield themselves but kicked the stone clone for it to break his cane free. He fired at her again but she blocked with an iced clone for her to make a small fog and caused him to hesitate on firing.

Blake dashed from the fog to strike Roman and he readied a block though as Gambol Shroud connected she used her semblance to get past him and aimed a kick at the back of his neck. But his reflexes were fast enough to lean forward before grabbing her leg, “Nice try Kitten.”

Gripping her leg he spun and threw her to crash into the control panel. But she quickly got up and changed her’s weapons form to fire at him, making him deflect shots as she closed the distance.

Immediately changing form to assault while using her semblance to keep him on his guard before she successful knocked him off his feet with a leg sweep. Before he could get up she forced him down with her blade at his throat, “Don’t move.”

“Do we really have to do this Kitty? I mean this ain’t bad but you didn’t strike me as the one to take control.”

“Shut it!”, pressing the blade more against his neck which seemed to make him annoyed. “What are you waiting for? Go ahead and kill me, you know you want too.”

She seemed to be contemplating it but....“I’m not you...”, though like her, his attention was taken when they both heard the sliding door open to see the Lieutenant throwing Weiss into the car. “And because you’re not like me, you lose.”

Clenching his right fist to punch her stomach then kicked her over him to land next to Weiss before he got up. Glancing to the control panel as it flashed red, “Heh, rides over girls.”

\------

One peaceful day in the city of Vale...before the ground began to rumble....then surprising every citizen nearby as the train broke through the rock wall for it to crash into the central plaza. The people around approached it carefully before they heard a roar to look at the hole the train made to see the Grimm pouring out.

With the Grimm running about and the panic as Team RWBY were engaged in battle did they not notice the door blown from the train. “Cough..cough..”, falling out of the train to land his back on concrete. “Fuck...”

His clothes torn a bit and he found himself to be bleeding as pieces of metal had pierced his body but he grabbed one of the handles from the train to pull himself up. Picking up his cane first before looking around to see people running and the Grimm facing off against the hunters and the police that had come.

Though he heard the turbines before looking up to see Bullheads coming from the direction Beacon when other hunters started jumping off it and entering the battle. Picking up his lighter to light his smoke, “Hah, nice response time Ozzy.”

He moved a bit aways from the train and the smoke so he could get a clear view of the hole and like he planned, the last cable car was still hanging from the hole. Pulling out a detonator he pressed the button for it to explode and shake the ground, but once the smoke cleared he saw the explosion had collapsed the cave and sealed it off. Thus stopping the Grimm from coming through.

“Mr. Torchwick!”, hearing his name he turned to see one of the White Fangs calling him while there was a Bullhead winding up behind them. Making his way over while blasting away the Grimm that dared try to attack him, “Roman!”

As he was about to reach the Bullhead, he glanced behind him to see Ruby calling out to him, “You won’t get away with this!”

Eying her before raising his cane to fire a shot and she was about to block it but it went past her as she heard the sound of the dying Beowulf to figure he wasn’t aiming at her at all, “A dead man can get away with anything Red, adios.”

He got on board, “Let’s go”, watched Ruby join up with her team as they were taking flight. Once they were high enough he looked for a certain building before he pulled out a different lighter from his pocket and flicked it in a pattern directed at a figure on the rooftop of that certain building.

Seeing the figure flash in response before he sat down and could hear beeping from the cockpit as he tightened his seatbelt, “We’re locked on! Hold on to something!”, and the only things Roman heard was the sound of the turbine exploding from the rocket which caused them to crash into a building.

Though the police had followed them and tried to approach the crash Bullhead with caution it exploded shortly after, leaving only a fiery grave for those unfortunate enough to be in it.


	22. My Way

“And by the words of Vale’s very own Police Chief, the City of Vale can rest easy once again now that it has been confirmed that the remains of homicidal criminal Roman Torchwick have been found in the crash site of a destroyed Bullhead during the brief Grimm attack.”, freezing the screen as they showed the mug shot of a young Roman.

“You don’t think he died in that explosion do you Ozpin?”, looking to his side to look at Glynda.

“For a man who's done so much to stay alive and dealt with people after his life, no I think Roman is alive and well. How’s the city?”

“Assuming that second explosion that closed the hole was caused by Roman, he was able to minimize the damage done and almost negate the loss of civilian lives. Though there will be many seeking counseling or therapy, they at least know they are alive.”

“Maybe you can trust him a bit more after this Glynda.”

Crossing her arms to thinking about the few meetings with Roman she had, while they weren’t always pleasant she had to admit he was at least **sort of** a gentleman most of the time when they met, “Maybe.”

Though they’re attention moved to the front as the elevator doors opened for them to see team RWBY all together, though as they came in they all talked at once and Glynda quickly silenced them. “Sorry girls, but it’s best if one talks at a time.”

“Ruby, as leader of RWBY, what is it?”

She took a deep breath first, “Who is Roman Torchwick?”

Keeping up his usual expression, “Good question, but tell me what comes up in your mind when you hear the name Roman Torchwick?”

Ruby- “Bad guy?”

Weiss- “Smug criminal.”

Yang- “Flirt?”

Blake- “..Monster.”

He chuckled at their words though when he thought about it, they somewhat fit Roman’s character, “Now why would you think that when you hear his name?”

“Cause he's hurt a lot of people, even killed some!”, though Blake withdrew as quickly as she raised her voice.

“True. I won’t lie and say that he doesn’t deserve punishment for the crimes he’s chosen to commit, but I can’t say that all the blame rests with him.”

Weiss gained his attention, “Are you defending him?”

Ozpin took off his glasses to clean it with a wipe, “Yes, yes I am. Is that a problem Ms Schnee?”

“He’s a criminal!”

Putting his glasses back on, “Yes, and now that he’s dead the least I can do to help his name is to explain.”

“Explain what?”

“That Roman Torchwick was an informant for me, and now I bare his death on my hands for putting him into the fatal situation he was in.”

Ruby was the most confused out of everyone even though only Glynda noticed that Blake’s expression was neither surprise or confusion, “Wait what?”

“Haven’t you wondered why your encounters seem to always go in your favor? I understand that while you all are very talented, you are still first years of Beacon and yet you face a supposedly dangerous man who by unofficial records has more experience in combat and taken the lives of those in much higher positions than yours.”

Putting his words through her mind and Ruby thought about every encounter with Roman, from...the grand party at the mansion, to where he loosened the ropes on binding her hands when they were at Mount Glenn, and where he killed the Beowolf about to attack her. “You mean, he’s been on our side?”

Hearing that Blake understood why her fight with Roman at the docks went the way it did now, especially his aiming and the difference in flares he had fired. She learned that the red flares were regular explosives that he aimed farther away while the white flares were concussion rounds that lacked lethality and could only incapacitate someone from a few minutes to a few hours at most.

“Yes, and he’s been helping to minimizing the damage that he had to do and the damage the White Fang had planned to do.”

“Wait wait, even if we go along with all of this and Torchwick being your informant.....what for?”, Weiss bringing up an important point.

“Ms. Belladonna, Ms Xiao Long, did you ever wonder why Roman Torchwick was so injured that night?”

Addressing the black and yellow pair as they remembered that night but Blake responded first, “How do you...”

“That, is a secret I cannot tell but can you tell me why he was in such a condition?”

“He had to have been attacked or something right?”

“Indeed, and while he was my informant he worked for the very people who injured him to such an extent so you can understand a little bit of how his situation was.”

“So the people he worked for? Who are they?”

Shaking his head, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you because I can’t bear to let you four get involved when you are still growing. But that’ll be all for today, let what I’ve told you sink in for a few days before you ask me anything else. For now, go about your studies and prepare for what’s to come...and let us handle things.”

Eventually they nodded and Glynda waited until the elevator doors closed before turning to Ozpin, “You know those girls will run into him again, wouldn’t it have been better to let them know of his survival since you already told him of his alliance?”

“I don’t think Roman would show himself again in the first place and they’re not ready.....not yet.”

\------

**After Bullhead Crash**

Blinking his eyes open as his hearing was still deafen when he realized he was still in the Bullhead but could see they crashed into some pharmacy. Unbuckling the seatbelt before grabbing his cane to kick the side door open to drop onto the floor. Stepping over to the broken counter before he looked at the half destroyed Bullhead. “Heh, nice shot Junior.”

He lit a smoke while he rummaged through the shelves to eventually find painkillers, then went to the aisles to grab some bandages when he heard the sound of a police car. “Officer Tubs, approaching the crash site.”

Hearing a male voice before he quietly hid behind a couple of toppled shelves as he listened to their footsteps. He looked at the reflection from a half shattered mirror to see a lone officer coming through the broken entrance.

Gently clicking the button as he pulled the handle for it to expand with the metal wire before going around the topple shelves to where he was right behind. They were looking at the crashed Bullhead as it was on fire and ready to blow but Roman waited as he listened to the officer talk on the radio....

Waiting for them to finish talking and once he saw him stepping closer to the Bullhead he rush to get behind him as he wrapped the metal wire around their neck and pulled. While Roman was trying to do it quickly and cleanly the officer kept struggling before the wire dug into their neck as they started to bleed.

Getting tired of it Roman kicked the back of their right leg to make them fall as he pulled on his cane for the wire to go through to stop at the middle of the neck before they stopped moving. Clicking the button for the handle to reel back as he let the body drop to the floor, but he listened to the radio.

More were coming and very soon so Roman undressed the dead officer before stripping down to switch clothes and redressed the officer with his. Then dragged their corpse to throw it into the spot he was before grabbing water bottles and bleach and dousing the blood trail with it. He didn’t care if it cleared it up that much but just felt better doing it.

Pulling out a small bomb that he made with the spare materials when the White Fang were making the bombs, he set it for the time he expected the other officers to make it before tossing it in the burning Bullhead.

Grabbing his cane he left through the broken entrance and got in the cop car to drive off when he turned a corner to just catch a glimpse of the other cop cars going to the crash site. He drove around aimlessly while listening to the radio to hear officers talking before the sound of an explosion shattered the peaceful air.

Glancing at the rear-view mirror all he could see was smoke and figured they’d be dumb enough to just assume he was dead. Either way he continued down to the more shady part of Vale before stopping in front of some run down hotel.

He held himself together as he entered and ignored the elderly woman at the desk until...”Wait...you’re...”, seeing her figure out who he was before he saw her about to reach for the land scroll.

“Don’t.”, aiming the officer’s pistol at her head which made her froze....but she tried to move as fast as she could and without hesitation he fired to send a bullet straight through her head as blood splattered the wall behind her then fell to the ground with a thud. “...Warned yah.”

He went around to get behind the counter and grabbed a set of hanging keys for an apartment on the top floor before he slowly made his way up the stairs. Some doors opened to see who it was but the second they locked eyes with Roman they quickly closed their doors and locked them.

Eventually he made to the door that had the same numbers on the set of keys he had. It was relatively clean for a shitty hotel but it’s not something he isn’t use too. Roman looked around to find what he could before he rigged the pistol to fire the second someone turns the doorknob on the front door.

Sparing no more time he headed to the bathroom after stripping off the jacket and the shirt before finding a handheld mirror to help him pull out the pieces of metal that pierced his body from the crash.

Finishing up and wiping away the blood from pulling the shards out he popped a few painkillers in his mouth as he filled up the bathtub with cold water. Once it was filled up he grabbed a timer to set it off in two hours before getting in.

The painkillers went into effect and the cold water numbed the pain he was feeling as he closed eyes and slowly drifted to sleep....

After the two hours pass he wakes up to the sound of the ringing alarm from the timer before he got out of the tub and turned it off. He used the towel to dry himself off as best as he could before he entered the living room to drag a chair then turned on the small TV to the news channel.

He bandaged himself while listening to the news that, like he guessed, would announce that he was dead. Lighting a smoke as the news reporter was talking to the Chief of Police saying it was a great day now that they’ve been relieved of a menace and that the City of Vale no longer has any reason to fear. “Sure Chief, the real fun hasn’t even started asshole.”

Knock, Knock, Knock...., hearing the sound at the door he eyed it whoever it was repeated the same three light knocks. Roman got up carefully as he quietly undid the rig he made to grab the pistol before he grabbed the doorknob.

Pulling it for the door to swing open as he aimed straight ahead to come face to face with Cinder, “Shouldn’t you put that down now Roman?”

“Let me indulge in my delusion of ending it a little longer.”, she simply stood there waiting as she noticed his finger shaking from just pulling the trigger. “You really want me dead don’t you?”

“My life is fucked because of you, so excuse my excess anger.”, she stepped forward to grab the gun and place it so it was touching her forehead.

“You said ending it here and now is a delusion, what’s stopping you from making it a reality?”

Roman was contemplating it, how close the gun was, how easily it could all end if he just pulled the trigger but.....“You should already know the answer to that Cinder.”

She smiled as her hand on the gun glowed and he watched while feeling the heat as she melted the gun to drip to the floor as molten metal. “Actually I don’t, but is it because you're afraid?”

Scoffing at that he turned around to sit back in the chair as he continued to watch the news, “Is that a yes?”

Smoking a few seconds before glancing to her while she looked at him with her arms crossed, “What’s there to be afraid of? Long as I follow your instructions I’m clear aren’t I?”

She stepped around to stand in between him and the television for him to take a second to realize he was basically staring at her crotch before, “You honestly expect me to believe you believe that?”

“Doesn’t matter what I believe, and as I much as I love staring at your crotch and imagining what I want to do to you, could you move?”, she tipped a finger under his chin to make him look up to her.

“Well if you really thought following my instructions kept you safe, then why aren’t you in a cell being interrogated by an Atlas General right now?”

“Cause being chained and locked up like an animal isn’t my fetish, but I’m more than willing to chain and lock you up for some fun if you’re offering.”

“Hmm...That doesn’t so bad, might even be fun.”, and because of how she said that with such a straight face he honestly couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “In anycase, you’re suppose to be on that ship, if you aren’t then you’re of no use aren’t you?”

“Remember who you’re talking to. There isn’t anything I can’t get into, cars, houses, mansions, vaults, a military ship with predictable soldiers and codes? They make it too easy.”, grabbing her hand away from his face as he stood up to confront her, “Now unless you want a demonstration of how I can get into anything, then I’d like to be left alone.”

“I think of how you always speak to me, and when I think of your love for that mute girl it makes me wonder if you miss the touch....”, bringing her arms around his neck as she pulled herself to him and her lips couldn’t have been more than an inch away from his, “...of a real woman.”

“.....You’re really starting to push it now.”

“What’s wrong? I thought Roman Torchwick didn’t miss opportunities when he has them, especially if their in his arms.”, and he couldn’t help that his hands gravitated towards her hips which made him remember.

That no matter what he saw her as or knew about her he admitted that physically, Cinder was one hell of a turn on and her sultry voice didn’t exactly help with the sensation of his lower half that was betraying him at the moment. “It’s been awhile since I’ve met a person with this much restraint.”

When it came these kind of situations...the better choice was to choose a safe route, “Didn’t you know? I’ve been training to become a monk so restraint is a specialty of mine.”

“Heh, always retreating to sexual comments or poor jokes when you’re not in control doesn’t suit you Roman.”

“Pray tell then, what should I do?”

“Read the mood and go with it.”, leaning in to kiss his lips. His first thought was, what if this was just a dream and he was still asleep in the cold bathtub since it was plausible that the painkillers he took helped make him sleep...though he didn’t remember the ones he took making him drowsy.

His second thought was that he hadn’t had a good night sleep or slept in a comfortable bed for almost two weeks so the fatigue was getting to him and he was imagining this.

The third and last thought was heavily due to Cinder’s soft lips and the feeling of her breasts pressed against his bare chest with it going like just any other one night stand with a pretty woman...

But the thing that made him break to push Cinder away and pull out the secondary black pistol he took from the dead officer to aim at her was seeing a hint of pink hair out of the left side of the door, “Forget it, I’m not gonna follow your pace and I’m definitely not gonna welcome my death sentence.”

She seemed a bit surprised by his reaction till she glanced behind her to see Neo staring daggers at her. “I simply thought you needed some help relaxing, but I guess someone already fills that role. In any case, how can I trust that you’ll actually get on that ship?”

“Cause I’m gonna do things **my way** and I’ll bet my life that I’ll find my way on that ship before the first match of the Vytal Festival Tournament ends.”

Seeing her eyes flash with fire, “If you don’t, it won’t end well Roman.”, before turning around to strut herself out of the room while Neo came in.

Lowering the gun as Neo came to wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly as he embraced her, “Thanks sweetheart, I almost gave in there.”

She squeezed him harder and he figured she might mad that he let Cinder’s charms almost get the better of him, “Sorry Neo....but can you blame me? She’s basically a walking sex symbol.”

Instead of letting go so she could hit him with her fist like she usually did, all she did was hit his chest with a weak headbutt which Roman couldn’t help but find it rather very cute. Looking up to him, _How do you plan on getting on the ship?_

“I need information first but since Atlas is usually pretty tight I’ll just have to do things the old-fashion way.”

Seeing the confusion in her face, “Don’t worry Neo, I got it covered but for now think I’ll just take shower.”, walking back to the bathroom while not noticing the small footsteps behind him as he stripped off the rest of his clothes before entering the shower.

It took him a few seconds to finally realize the short presence behind him, “Huh, first time I didn’t ask you to join me and you joined by yourself.” Turning to see Neo looking up to him expect her face wasn’t red from embarrassment like any other time either them were naked.

“....How long were you really there Neo?”

_.....Long enough._

“You’re just as much of a woman as she is Neo, no need to prove yourself. Besides, I’m just tired so I wasn’t in the best condition to react normally.”, she pulled him down to kiss his lips which was a surprise to him to see her this aggressive and was wondering if Cinder was rubbing off her.

Breaking away from the kiss, _You never look at me like you look at her or any of the other women._

Gently placing a hand on her cheek, “I’m afraid of losing you Neo, if I saw you like them then I know you’ll disappear when I open my eyes. It may sound selfish and stupid coming even from me....but we’ve always been thick as thieves and I didn’t want to ruin that.”

She embraced him as she listened to his heartbeat for a few seconds before looking up and mouthing the words for him to read, _I love you Roman, and like you always said to me. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what happens._


	23. Trigger Warnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did say there might be torture didn't I?

Watching from the entrance between the stands as the crowd cheered with the fight going on and Roman kept his eyes on the actions of team RWBY. “Such violent little girls.”, disguised by wearing a red camo uniform which the few of Vale’s military soldiers wore while not on duty.

Though he covered his right ear to hear the earpiece in his left more clearly, [Mr. Torchwick, we’ve secured eight Atlas soldiers and replaced them with our own per your request.]

[Good work, work on getting control of the security cameras and do you already have the equipment prepared?]

[Yes sir, we’ve obtained everything you listed.]

Turning around as he saw Yang failing to ice skate to follow her opponent and headed for a door labeled Maintenance, “Hey!”

He stopped with his hand touching the door when he peered to his left to see a male and female pair of Atlas officers. “Step away from that door sir, only staff are allowed.”

Though he remained motionless as he heard them getting closer, “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Noticing the man's tone getting more aggressive before he felt him grab his shoulder. He pulled back his hand from the door to clench it into a fist as the glove he was wearing surged with electricity before he punched the soldier’s stomach.

Covering his mouth as he sent a large amount of volts through the man before he went down. Roman dashed to grab the woman before she could react and throw her to the ground before punching her chest with the same electrical fist until he saw she was unconscious.

Standing back up to see what he didn’t intend to capture but...[Set up one more room, I’m bringing two more in.]

\---------

Slowly opening her eyes to only see darkness, “W-where am I?”, and she tried to look around but was only met with darkness until she heard footsteps. “Hey! I hear you, who’s there?!”

Listening to the footsteps she could hear them pacing, “I don’t know who you are but I’m an Atlas Officer and if I’m missing someone will notice.”

“No one will notice a thing.”, hearing a male voice stomp on her words sent a chill down her neck before they pulled off the bag over her head. In front of her was the man they tried to confront earlier, except he wasn’t wearing the camo jacket and instead just a black tank top but the most distinguishing features were the scars that were visible and the White Fang Mask they wore.

Though after looking around she noticed they were in a dimly lit room that felt like an interrogation room at a police station when she noticed the large mirror but seeing the reflection she realized that there was one other person tied up and that it was her partner who was just waking up.

Before she could speak the masked man gestured her to stay quiet before he put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. She was confused as to why but knew she had to keep it in her mouth when they moved their hand horizontally across his throat gesturing what they’d do if she’d dropped it.

Nodding to that she saw him smile as he tapped her cheek before he walked around her and she watched from the mirror’s reflection. He stood in front of her partner before he took the bag of his head, “Who? Let us go you terrorist scum!”

Seeing her partner react aggressively like always but she winced when the masked man threw a heavy right hook as she could hear something crack. “I’ll...I’ll kill you yo-”, and his words were cut short from another hook to the head.

She looked away from the mirror as she couldn’t bear to look as her partner’s face was bleeding as the man kept punching him repeatedly without stopping to even take a break. She shuddered since they were close enough that she could hear every punch loud and clearly.

Eventually she closed her eyes as she couldn’t stop her own eyes from looking to see what was happening while they were open. But it backfired and made the sounds even more terrifying as her partner even stopped talking so all she could hear in that room was the punching.

Time felt so slow and it felt like it was going on for hours until it suddenly stopped...she was sweating before she opened her eyes to first the door. Then moving her eyes to the reflection in the mirror to see the masked man standing in front of....

...A bloody mess that she couldn’t even recognize as her partner anymore but still it didn’t surprise as her partner twitched in fear when the masked man walked around to make his way back in front of her as he waved his hand to the door.

The door opened for two other White Fang members who she noticed walked very nervously as they pushed two metal carts on both sides of her. Looking at the carts her face went pale once she noticed the large assortment of tools on it.

Though one of the White Fang left one stayed as they prepared a syringe, “W-what’s that?”.

The masked man reached for the cigarette between her lips and she noticed how his hands were literally stained with blood as she could smell it off them. He smoked the cigarette as he turned around when the White Fang quickly injected it in her neck.

“It’ll help you deal,”, and the White Fang Member quickly ran to leave the room... “...Deal with wha-”

Not even able to finish her sentence as the man spun around to hit the left side of her face with a heavy hook. Her vision was shaky but once it cleared up she saw one of her teeth was on the floor along with a thin blood trail as she could feel the inside of her mouth bleeding, “Deal with that.”

“W-why are you doing this?”

He puffed out smoke in front of her face before he pulled a chair from the side to sit in front of her, “Cause I know you military types, you always say you’ll never talk but everyone breaks, and that includes you sweetheart.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

“Oh I’m confident I already have,” pulling a large tablet from the right cart to turn it on and show her what looked like a live security feed. It took her a second to recognize it was where she and her partner were suppose to be posted before they ran into the man, except even though they were here strapped to chairs....there was two Atlas soldiers who appeared to be almost identical standing in their place.

Setting it aside as the feed changed to show the arena where two teams were fighting it out, then changed to a screen of the stands, to the front door of a locker room and more. “As you can see, you won’t be missed and nobody will see anything that I won’t let them.”

“Even so...you’re wrong, I won’t break no matter what you do to me.”, and he chuckled while she thought she saw a hint of orange hair peeking out from the back of his cap.

“You’re real funny honey,” grabbing the zipper from her jacket to pull it down and reveal her top before he picked up a pair of scissors. “Don’t touch me!”

And her outburst earned her a straight punch to the face as her vision was blurry while he held her by the throat as he started cutting from the bottom of her top to open it from the middle to reveal her small breasts covered with a white bra. “Even if you are military I was expecting something a bit more daring.”

She could hear the disappointment in his voice, “Why don’t you fucking ask me what it is you want already?”

“Where's the fun in going straight to the point? At least let me make you more comfortable.”, using the same scissors to carefully cut away her clothes until she was half naked with just her bra and short shorts from how carefully he cut while she was twitchy the entire time since she thought the scissors were sharpened as she felt the cold steel touch her skin at times.

“How bout that? Feeling comfortable sweetheart?”

“Just ask me you fucking pervert!”

Holding his hands up, “Sheesh, you know some people like foreplay dear, but your wish is my command.”, putting down the scissors before picking a large jagged knife and flipped it up with his right hand as he asked, “Tell me Atlas’ countermeasures in the event of a Grimm Attack.”

“Forge-”

“Wrong answer.”, interrupting her once again before she screamed when he raised the knife to plunge it through her left hand with blood dripping from the wound.

“FUCK, if you know about us military types then you know torture will get you nowhere!”

She could only see his smile as he picked up another jagged knife and stabbed her right hand to make her scream in pain once again. “To escape from pain people will say anything to answer their torturer’s questions but the thing is. People always want to live, but what if the torturer never lets them die?”

Pulling two syringes from the table to bite off the covers as he injected it in both of her hands for the pain to lessen while the blood stopped dripping it out even though the knives were still in her. “Wh-what did you just inject me with?!”

“It’s a little something from the black market. It prevents blood loss for a short amount of time but it last long enough...”, pulling out the knife in her left hand for no blood to splurt out before he picked up a syringe with a different colored liquid before injecting her hand. She felt an intense heat as the hole in her hand was burning up but she could see it was closing up. “...to patch it up or in this case use a serum to amplify a living being’s regeneration, think of it like if you scrape your knee and it takes a few days to heal but instead with this it heals in a few minutes.”

“Only problem is, it’s rather very addictive with continuous use and let me tell you. The side effects are not pretty.”

“But, let’s move on shall we? How many soldiers were brought to Atlas and what are the current rotations?”

She spit whatever blood was still in her mouth in his face to cover his mask with blood, “Cute.”, wiping it out the mask to take a finger to press against her throat and down the middle between her breasts all the way down to her stomach where he stopped at the top of her pants before stepping up from the chair to hit her with a punch to the stomach.

And he stepped away fast enough as she threw up blood and her lunch on the ground while some of it got on her body. “Hah...hah...”

“Ah look at what you've done now, you gotten yourself all dirty.”, walking over to tap on the glass and within seconds the only door opened for two other White Fang members to both bring in two buckets filled to the brim with water.

Dropping it next to the man as quickly as they left the room, and just as nervous as the previous ones. “Such reliable comrades, they always know what I need.”

Picking up a bucket, “Let’s get you clean yah?”, to dump it on top of her head but the water was ice cold and as soon as it touched her it felt like she was being stung with the chill. “Aw, now you’re all wet and it appears you’ve harden a bit too.”

Picking up a knife to cut the strand keeping her bra together to reveal her breasts and her nipples that got hard from contact with the cold water. There was sense of embarrassment and despair on her face when he touched her right nipple with the flat side of the knife to make her feel the cold steel. “Wow, you are rock hard aren’t you?”, as she held back trying to scream when he twisted her left nipple.

She felt relief as he pulled the knife away and sat back in the chair but he propped his feet up on her chair as she felt his boots between her legs as they touched her crotch. “Alright, how about telling me codes, pin numbers, you know the usual.”

“Go screw yourself.”

“I’m positive I’d have more fun screwing you but then we’d lose the pain factor unless you’re really tight down there.”, slightly moving his boot to rub against her wet crotch which made her twitch from the touch.

“Let’s try the same question again, what are the codes and pin numbers locking Atlas ships?”

“Jump a cliff,” and he pulled his leg to kick right in the center of her crotch for her to make a pained expression but she held back any scream. “You know you’re only making it harder on yourself right?”

Stepping up from the chair to open the drawers to pull out a small generator and jumper cables which she already knew what he used them on. Hooking up the cables to the generator as he clamped the other end to both of her nipples as she clenched her teeth when they shut on them before seeing some blood drip from them.

Not even bothering to ask a question as he flipped the switch on the generator for her to suddenly be shocked and convulsing from the surge of electricity coursing through her body. It went on for nearly two minutes before he turned it off and she was gasping as she tried to breath normally.

“I’ve got a lot of toys to try on you dear, are you gonna make me use them all?”, picking up and flipping a pair of pliers in his hand.

“...Do your worst...”

He couldn’t help but smile as he pushed her forehead to have her head back as he held up the pliers, “Good answer soldier.”, and stuck it in her mouth to quickly pull out one of her teeth to make more blood drip from her mouth.

All she could feel was pain from it all, the pulled out tooth, the knife still in her right hand and the jumper cables still clamped on her nipples but she knew the second she gave up any information she was dead.....

“So? Still gonna resist my dear?”

“I...I won’t give in...”

He sighed before he turned his attention back to her, “Very disappointing love, you were actually pretty.”, forcing her mouth open as he held the pliers while she could see his green eyes through the White Fang mask. “Might as well go the way then.”

\----------

Walking through the facility the members only made way for Adam as he pressed on until he saw a bit of a small crowd who were in between covering their eyes or looking like they’d throw up even though the Lieutenant who was also there simply remained the same with his arms crossed.

Though once they noticed they stepped towards him, “What brings you here Adam?”

“Clearly I’ll want to know why my men took over a facility hidden underneath an abandoned building.”

“Mr. Torchwick requested it Adam.”

“What would he want with it?”, and as if answering it himself the door next to them opened revealing a bloody man which Adam took a few seconds to recognize it was Roman underneath the mask.

“Ah Addy, been awhile since we’ve seen each other.”, looking past Roman to see inside the room was a horrible injured woman who was half naked and crying as he could see all the teeth were missing and numerous cuts and burns on her body.

“Hey, did you record everything she said?”, Roman addressed a nearby White Fang member who was holding onto a tablet. “Ah yes sir, what do we with them?”

Turning their attention to the tortured woman who was crying, “P-please...have mercy...”

Roman looked at her as he pulled out a gun and looked to the White Fang member as he aimed it inside of the room, “Give’em mercy.”, and a single gunshot pierced through her head right between the eyes before piercing the second prisoner set right behind her.

Adam didn’t see the execution so clearly but could guess from the reaction of the White Fang members looking through the one-way window that Roman did kill them in one shot. “Looks like I was right about you, you are insane.”

“Please Addy, violence and torture is one of the basics of interrogation. Or have you not been in the game long enough to do it yourself?”

Adam looked back towards the dead prisoner before looking at Roman, “What you did looks more like you were just playing with your food.”

Roman stepped up to Adam and all Adam could smell was the blood on him as he saw his green eyes gleam through the mask, “Why don’t I show you?”

Stepping away to pick up a bucket of water to pour it on himself to wash away the blood that was still on him before he gestured the Lieutenant and Adam to follow while telling the other White Fang members to clean up the mess.

They followed him into a different room and it was identical to the last room with two different prisoners with bags on their heads strapped to chairs as they were facing each other. Except the only difference was that there was a small tub of water in the room with them.

“Well Addy, would you prefer to watch or to participate?”, his answer was clear as he stepped to the side and leaned his back against the wall.

“Alright, big guy I might need your help lifting something in a little bit.”, the Lieutenant nodded as Roman took off the bag from both of them. They were both confused and started shouting and cursing at him to let them go before he pulled out and put on a pair of brass knuckles on his right fist to punch the man in the face.

It stunned him long enough for Roman to unstrap the man to Adam’s surprise before he dragged the stunned man to the tub of water to dunk his head in and make the other soldier watch as he was drowning his comrade.

After a bit of drowning and the other soldier’s screaming did he bring the man up from the tub and tossed him on the ground as they gasping for air while coughing up copious amounts of water. For good measure Roman stomped on the man’s chest for him to vomit water and leftover before he grabbed the man’s left arm and used handcuffs to chain him to the handle on the tub.

Roman lit a smoke as he sat in the chair where the man once was so he was facing the other one as he addressed him, “Well then, lets get started shall we?”

\--------

After some time passes the three leave the room with Roman first, the Lieutenant and Adam leaving last but he glanced back into the room. The man who almost drowned was screaming in pain as he was bleeding out after his left arm and left leg were chopped off while the other man was struggling in the air as the noose around his neck was tightening.

Adam himself knew that he didn’t care much for these soldiers, rather he was glad to see them die like this but something about it being done from someone like Roman left a bad taste in his thoughts. Even though he had to admit that Roman was ruthless the man was efficient as they gained more information about Atlas.

“I’m sure that should be more than enough of a demonstration Lieutenant, I trust you and your comrades can conduct similar interrogations and record everything they say as well?”

“Yes, we’ll have our men get right on it.”

“Mr. Torchwick, you have a call.”, a White Fang came to him before they held up a scroll for him to take.

[Hello?]

[Hey it’s Emerald.]

[What a surprise, didn’t expect a call from you Emmy.]

[Shut up, I’m calling for your little girlfriend. She said she wants to see you at the festival, are you free tonight?]

Looking at the time while Adam was addressing his men and received a thumbs up from the Lieutenant, [Yeah, tell her to meet me at the plaza then.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit softer next chapter.


	24. Vytal Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can't make promises you know you won't be able to keep.

Waiting patiently on a bench while he could see people passing by as they were enjoying the festival food and games. Though as he was scanning the crowds he spotted the short ice cream with her black and white disguise and made his way without her noticing.

While she was looking around, likely trying to find him, Roman got behind and put his hands over her eyes, “Guess who.” She grabbed his hands to pull them down from her eyes before she looked up to see a smiling Roman. “Hey there sweetheart.”

Standing on her tiptoes for their lips to touch and after parting he could see her bright expression, _Did you wait long?_

“I don’t mind waiting when it comes to you.”, wrapping his hands around her and nuzzling against her neck. She felt a little embarrassed with them being out in the open as they are now but she could see Roman was too happy with it. “Surprised the queen let you play, when’s your match?”

_Tomorrow, with the second half of the teams fighting._

Stepping to the side so they were out of the crowd and were against a tree as they watch people walk while recognizing a few faces,“Then I’ll make a note to watch, if not I’ll at least find a place broadcasting it.”

_How are you doing? Are they giving you trouble?_

“Most of them are too scared of me to give me trouble and I’m pretty sure any that would have gave up after my demonstration from this afternoon.”

_Demonstration?_ , giving him a puzzled look which he responded with a somber smile, “Let's just say my old methods are starting to see some light these days.”

_...Are you feeling okay....Mentally?_

“Eh, I’ll live...it’s just been awhile since I’ve done it so I surprised myself a bit. But enough about that garbage, what do you feel like doing?”, she thought about it as she looked around to scan the festival till she grabbed his hand and pulled him along for him to follow.

Arriving at a dart stand where a couple and some children were attempting and failing miserably at trying to hit the center mark of the targets. He paid and she got to try it herself.....though her attempts weren’t that much different from the previous attempts done by others...which he couldn’t help but pat her head over her cute loss but resulted in her pouting at him. “You know pouting only makes you cuter.”

Paying again he offered to do it and nailed the center three times in a row, the first was for a prize for Neo while the next two was for the children next to them when she felt bad that they could barely throw. “Thanks mister!”

Waving bye as the children ran back to their group carrying a massive stuffed bear while Neo felt happy with a smaller stuffed panda, “You sure you’re okay with just that?”, and she nodded with a happy expression.

“Come on then, lets see what else we can play.”, leading his way through the festival with her following along as they continued to play the various games and win an assortment of prizes which in the end they gave up to the kids that were nearby.

Choosing to take a break he sat down at a table when Neo pointed towards a food stand, “Ah, just ask if they’ve got iced tea.”, nodding as she left the panda with him. As he was taking out his lighter and his pack, “Seems you’re doing well Roman.”

He paused for a second till he recognized the voice and chuckled as he lit his cigarette, “You were worried about me Ozzy?”

“Well you are a reckless man and an important associate so yes I can safely say I was a bit worried.”

“Heh, how’d you guess I was here?”, not bothering to look back as he held his pack of smokes behind him but Ozpin refused. “It’s easy to follow when children spread word that if their near a stylish man and a pretty short woman they’ll get free prizes from their winnings. In fact its a bit surprising that you hand out such kindness given how you always speak of being heartless."

“What can I say? Even I have my moments.”

“Indeed, but theres something that’s been on my mind for awhile. After news of your untimely death, the White Fang and all criminal activities have appeared to stop, leaving Vale bright for a few months. Why is that?”

Smoking quietly as he was looking around to see happy families and what he figured were students from Beacon and other academies having fun, “Peace always makes the upcoming storm even worse don’t you think?”

There was silence before he heard Ozpin sipping what he figured was his usual coffee cup, he still wondered why he always had it when he was out, “Any advice to handle the storm?”

Seeing Neo wave her hand at him while she was holding drinks before glancing to the side to see Glynda coming, for Ozpin obviously so he got up, “If you got a plan then do it, clocks ticking and we’re both running out of moves to play.”

Putting up a smile as he walked right past Glynda but when he stopped hearing her heels he knew she realized but he met up with Neo and walked away from them. _Was that Ozpin? What did you guys talk about?_

“Just a little catch up, nothing to worry about.”, taking his drink after drinking from hers to taste some strawberry smoothie. “Always picking something sweet.”, and received a punch to the shoulder for it as they continued on.

Keeping up his win streak as they continued to play the rest of the games at the festival until they stopped at a gun range stand. Neo got first try as usual so Roman took a step back and watched when he felt two different taps on both his shoulders.

He turned to face whoever it was but was surprised as he was immediately hugged before he smiled and returned the hug once he realized it was them. But before they could speak he gestured them to stay quiet and pointed behind him for the twins to see Neo shooting and successfully hitting the targets.

She jumped for joy as she got them all but when she turned to point it out for Roman she dropped the air gun as she ran to hug with Melanie and Miltia. “We missed you little Neo.”

_I missed you guys too!_ , looking overjoyed to see them she couldn’t hold back the tears and the twins helped her wipe them away as Roman smoked peacefully when his scroll pinged.

Checking it to see it was from unknown number before he checked the message and smiled.

[It’s Junior, come to the bar.]

“Hey girls,” catching their attention before they looked to him, “Junior’s waiting for us.”

As they headed for the exit of the festival they could see some of Juniors men waiting for them with a limo. They got in and started heading off even though they couldn’t really see out the windows with them so tinted but Roman figured they were going to the bar.

Though as they got closer he could hear music and it got louder as they kept going until they stopped to receive a surprise when the door was opened for them. They got out and recognized it as the same street as the bar but it was completely filled with people with colorful lights illuminating the street as the speakers blew up the air with music.

Smoking his cigarette as the girls looked with amazement and for Roman it brought back some memories, “Heh, been awhile since we had a block party Junior.”

Junior’s men continued to point the way for them to follow until Roman saw Junior sitting on a wide cooler with a beer in his hand. He gestured Neo to go have fun with the twins since it’d been awhile before he walked over to sit next down next to Junior as a raver girl on roller blades came by to hand him a beer before leaving.

“What’s the occasion?”

“What? Can’t have a party whenever I want?”

“Last time you threw a party it was cause the only captain in the Syndicate that we liked died and we did a big one in his honor. But...”, glancing past the crowds of people he could see it was spilling to other streets.

“This one is probably five times bigger than that one. So?”

Drinking from his beer and staring at the people, “Everyone here is either a gang member, ex-convict, dealer, or from the black market...but all of them know that Vale is their home. Something big is gonna happen isn’t it? Tell me how many of the faces here are we gonna see in the ground Roman?”

Letting his words sink in for him to think about it, by now he knew Cinder’s plans and how it’ll lead to Vale to become a battlefield....“Honestly?....I really don’t know this time.”

“Hah...if even you don’t know then that means everyone...”

Tapping his beer with his to get his attention, “You’re not giving these guys enough credit.”, before taking a sip.

“Maybe I am, but all I can say is that I’ve got a really bad feeling and it isn’t going away anytime soon....so why not enjoy the freedom of peace while I can right?”

“Heh....how you gonna handle the cops when they show up?”

Junior pointed ahead of them for Roman to follow and recognize the woman they knew as Elena as she winked at them, “Elena was kind enough to send a couple of her girls to the police chief to keep the cops out. And Atlas is busy with the Vytal Festival.”

“Sounds like the perfect night for criminals and all scum a-like.”

“Yeah....you got a plan for everything right?”

“Of course I do, you wanna know?”

“Later, for now lets just enjoy this night and get fucked up. You good with that?”, raising his beer and Roman chuckled before he clinked with his as they down their beers at the same time. Taking a breath after downing their beers in one shot before they simply laughed and headed into the crowds.

“It’s nice to see you’re in good spirits Roman.”

“Don’t drink so much so quickly sweetheart.”

“I’m...always in good spirits Old Timer....and I can handle my liquor just fine...Elena...”, his speech a little slow made both Locke and Elena laugh though they were happy to see him in one piece since they had watched the news a few months ago.

“How long has it been since we were all together Roman?”, gesturing Roman to look around the large table that was set for them.

Even though Neo didn’t drink much she was participating in drinking games with Melanie, Miltia, and Gale who showed up with her friends they all recognized from the gang.

Junior was drinking with Walter, his men, Sebastian, Parla and other regulars of the diner that he came to know over the years.

Then looked to the two people, Locke and Elena, who he knew when he first entered the game which made him laugh, “It’s been too long Old Timer, cheers to Vale.”

And even though it wasn’t in anyway loud or booming the surrounding crowd and everyone at the table followed him as they raised their drinks, “To Vale!”

They continued to drink and party away their stress into the night.....

Stumbling into a somewhat clear alley before throwing up everything he drank into a trash can until he felt a slender hand tap his back. Turning to first see a water bottle before recognizing the dark skin as he looked up to see Emerald with a somewhat static expression, “Surprise, surprise, I certainly didn’t expect to see you here Emerald.”

Though she was silent as she drew his attention to the water bottle until he took it, drank a bit before spitting it out and repeated until he didn’t taste the throw up anymore. “What’s the point in drinking like it's your last day in Remnant?”

Tossing the water bottle since he finished it before lighting a smoke, “You just don’t get it do you? I’m like you, a pawn in Cinder’s game. Though her game involving me is about to end, you’re fine as long as she knows you’ll lick her heels without hesitation. But the second she thinks your loyalty is wavering she’s gonna cut you lose cause you know what we are? Expendable.”

“You’re wrong.”

“The first time we met you took me insulting Cinder as if I was insane for doing so, but look at you now. You told me I was **wrong** , when the old you would have told me I was delusional for thinking like that. So you already know your place in Cinder’s world.”

“Then what the hell do you think you’re doing?! Drinking and partying like all these assholes when you know you could do something!”

Roman’s laughter shocked her as he looked up into the starry sky, “You still don’t get it....We’re the only ones here who knows what's coming but everyone here can tell something bad is coming and none of them know what to do. They’re living up to the fullest while they still can cause we both know almost everyone here is gonna die when the climax of Cinder’s plan starts.”

“There should be something you can do that I can’t!”

“Heh....you give me too much credit, I know the end result but I can’t predict every move Cinder makes and counter them to negate their effects. All I can do is play whatever cards I have left.”

Gently pushing her aside, as he headed back to the party, “Feel free to join the party, plenty of beer to go around. Want drugs? Every dealer in Vale is here for you. Just looking for sex? No one here will say no. Maybe we’ll see each other before the night ends....but until then, enjoy.”

Leaving Emerald as he entered the crowd but when he looked back she had disappeared from the alley and simply shook his head. Roman headed to where he last seen his people.

As he was getting closer...“Roman!”, suddenly a stumbling Melanie ran up to hug him as she was carrying a large liquor bottle but the surprise was the kiss which he could taste basically everything she drank before. “I love you too....”, breaking from the kiss to rest her head against his shoulder as she was quietly laughing.

Though as he looked towards the table she could see some of her lipstick on Neo and few of the others there as he remembered she was the happy loving drunk. “Love yah too Skimpy.”, patting her head before helping her back to the table.

Setting her down so she could rest her head on the table though she was still laughing quietly with mumbled words of love you with his, Neo, Junior or Miltia’s name. Though he felt his sleeve being tugged to look and see Neo whose face seemed a little red and the way her eyes moved were a bit slow from the drinking but she was able to still sign perfectly fine.

_Where’d you go Roman?_

Taking a quick look around before he eventually saw Emerald sitting at one of the makeshift bars by herself yet drinking nonetheless and she noticed him staring but quickly turned to continue which made him smirk, “A lost green butterfly asked for directions and I told em where to go.”

It looked like she didn’t understand but she nodded rather lazily before laying her head on the table like Melanie. “Roman, drink?”, Miltia showing up to his side as she carried a glass of what appeared to be vodka in both hands. Taking one from her and clinking their glasses, “Bottom’s up.”

After some time...“Sheesh...you girls are too much trouble...”, with Neo’s arms around his neck as she was on his back, carrying Melanie over his left shoulder and supporting Miltia as he walked into an open apartment building and he didn’t have to ask before someone who was dealing drugs tossed him some keys while holding up two fingers.

He stared at the keys before looking at the dealer who for some reason his mouth was sewn shut but he could tell the guy was grinning when he looked at the girls as he gave him a thumbs up. Roman sighed but he pushed through to carry and hold them up as he went upstairs and found the right door after using the key.

It was okay at best, though it did remind him a bit of his old apartment which made it slightly more comfortable to him than it probably really was. He quickly made his way to the bedroom to carefully lay each of them on the bed even though they were still mumbling random stuff.

Pulling his shirt and taking a quick sniff made him take it off and throw it away as it reeked of beer and a bit of the throw up awhile ago. Looking around to find a laptop with a sticky note with the password on it and he knew no one would mind if he used it since their was a tint of blood on the note that led him to believe what condition the owner was in.

Sitting on the edge of the bed before opening the laptop to search for a specific phone number. Once he found it he pulled out his scroll to dial the number, [....Hello?]

[Trig? It’s Roman.]

[Oh hey Boss! I got your stuff man but how’d you get ahold of Atlas’ paladins?]

[I’ll tell you another time, can you lock on to my location and set up a video chat with the laptop I’m on right now?]

[Sure thing, give me a few seconds.], he waited patiently before he suddenly felt something soft touch his back to glance and see Miltia pressing her chest up against him but refocused on the laptop once he heard him.

[Yo Boss! It’s been awhile but...looks like you’re about to get busy with....three girls? You haven’t changed one bit, still a beast with the ladies haha!], seeing the young man who was bald but had a skull tattoo to cover his head and the way he was dressed let one easily tell that he was a gearhead.

[Focus Trig. Did you get what I sent you?], looking like he’d just remembered and left from the screen for Roman to see the background more clearly. It appeared to be some kind of modified underground garage as he could see numerous equipment and hangers that were occupied with the Paladins that’d he sent months ago.

Before he came back as he rushed to sit on his chair and almost fell over but pulled his desk to get his balance as he raised the scroll that Roman recognized was the one Cinder gave him due to the chess piece on the screen, [This thing right? I haven’t touched it yet but I’ve been keeping it locked away since its been making my gear act all weird Boss.]

[How fast can you figure out what exactly the thing inside it is capable of?]

[Well I slept for two days so I should be able to work on it through the night and be done maybe mid-morning if not late afternoon. I’ve already hacked into the gps system on your scroll so I’ll know where you are and I’ll send one of my boys when I’m finished.]

[Just remember to keep it isolated before you let that thing loose.]

[Don’t worry Boss, I’ve dealt with some nasty viruses in the past. I got this covered, have fun with the ladies haha!], ending the video call so he could close the laptop but dialed in another number.

“Roman...can you help me?”, hearing her voice and turning to see Miltia had stripped off low cut shirt before pointing to the center of the red bra she was wearing to see the hook. Unhooking it for the bra to fall off and reveal her breasts but he turned as they call finally connected.

[Junior? What took you so long?], though the soft feeling on his back came back as he felt Miltia pressing her bare breasts against his back and her head resting on his shoulder. “...Better...”

Barely turning his head to receive a kiss to his cheek before hushing her as he listened, [Mr. Torchwick? It’s Walter. Mr. Xiong is unfortunately not sober enough to have a conversation and we’re going to take him home.]

[Alright, can you relay a message for me?]

[Yes sir, what is it?]

[Tell him to come to the black apartment building on 23rd street, second floor door 23.]

[Understood sir, have a good rest.], ending the call and putting away his scroll through the soft feeling on his back was still there as he lit a smoke. “You’re drunk Skimper, you really don’t want it.”

Though she brought her hands and crushed the tip of his cigarette for the fire to go out before turning to her, “...So what if I’m drunk?....And it’s not Skimper...”. Tossing away the cigarette from his mouth before pulling him in to kiss him while he felt her breasts touch his shoulder.

“It’s Miltia...and I do want it...”, pushing her back as he noticed movement on the bed to see Melanie was awake and even though she still looked drunk he could recognize a certain look in her eyes. “What’s wrong with you two?”

Melanie sitting up a bit to gently stroke Neo’s hair as she opening her eyes, “What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with you?....If it was any other woman you wouldn’t hesitate.”, kissing her forehead before she stripped off her own clothes.

“Maybe cause I don’t see you guys that way, and because I know I’ll see you the next day unlike any of them. Now put your clothes back on and go to sleep.”

Getting up from the bed but Miltia grabbed his hand to stop him, “How do we know we’ll see you again? You think we didn’t notice that look in your eyes?”

Confused from her words, “..What look?”

Melanie- “The same look you had before your outburst when the cops arrested you, the look that said you’d accepted your fate.”

Miltia- “Locke knows, Junior knows...we know...that you’re planning something to make sure Neo’s future is safe....but that it doesn’t include you.”

“You guys don’t know anything.”, trying to pull away though Miltia tightened her grip and he felt a second hand to see Melanie come grab his arm. “Like Neo and Junior, we’ve been by your side for years. We know just as much if not more about you than you know about yourself Roman.”

Staring at them and looking to Neo who was wide awake now, “You two are virgins aren’t you? Go do it with the one you love then, make it special or some shit.”

Together- “We love you.”

“Now you’re just lying.”, but as he glanced to Neo she signed for him.

_Listen to them Roman....knowing you...this may be the last time you speak to them..._

Miltia- “You do things you’re own way...”

Melanie- “You’ve always been an idiot...”

Miltia- “You’ll forever be reckless...”

Melanie- “And you’re actions are nearly suicidal...”

Though he was annoyed by their words he couldn’t deny them before he saw their smile as they spoke together, “But we love you nonetheless and we’ll cry if you disappear.”, pulling his arm to pull him back to the bed so they could hug him together.

Seeming confused over what he should do and looked towards Neo but she only smiled which took him a few seconds before he chuckled and wrapped his arms around the twins. Feeling the warmth from their embrace..“You guys worry too much...and I can’t say I don’t love you too.”

“...But I can’t promise anything else.”


	25. Predictions

Knock, Knock, Knock....

Blinking his eyes open to see the end of a white tiled wall and questioning where he was before he remembered he slept in the bathtub after he put the twins to sleep. Getting out and stretching his limbs before noticing a note in the sink.

Picking it up he instantly recognized Neo’s handwriting, _Cinder called so I left early but I made breakfast for you and the others. Stay safe, and love you. Neo~_

Hearing the knocking again before leaving the bathroom to first see to his right the girls still sound asleep but moved the blanket to better cover them as he stepped out into the living room.

Seeing the wrapped up plates on the table but he headed towards the front door and opened it to reveal Junior carrying a small cardboard box as he smelled coffee coming from it, “Rough morning?”

“Rough morning.”, agreeing with him as Junior stepped inside and headed for the table along with Roman. Pulling out a cup of coffee to hand to him before pulling out one for himself, “How’s outside?”

“It’s a mess, but it’s not like people will come this way with the construction signs on the road. Pretty much everyone is sleeping on the streets but once everyone wakes up Gemini will hose it down and make everything disappear.”

“Who’s paying Gemini?”

“Themselves, most of the gangsters here are also employed by Gemini so the ones who weren’t piss-ass drunk and having a hangover right now are working while the ones who were are paying directly to the boss.”

Drinking his cup to taste the sweet coffee as Roman thought about his next move...”Hey Junior.”

“What?”

“Am I crazy?”

“You said it, not me.”, and drinking his own coffee when he looked at the wrapped up food. “You gonna eat?”

“Waiting for Melanie and Miltia.”, pointing towards the door to the other room.

“Something happen? You rarely call them by their name.”

The image of last night burning in his mind along with the sensation as well, “Nothing happened, nothing at all.” And while Junior eyed him with suspicion..

“Roman...?”, hearing the door opened to see first Melanie rubbing her eyes while looking sluggish and completely bare naked with Miltia behind her but was decent enough to hold one of the blankets to cover herself.

Junior looked back to Roman, “Right.”

“...Still nothing happened, at least put on underwear before you eat you two.”, Melanie still looking half asleep but nodded as she turned around to find her clothes while Miltia closed the doors.

“Sleep with whoever you want, it’s not my problem Roman.”, gesturing that there was nothing he could do and Roman figured there was no point in getting him to believe when it comes to this so he sighed.

“Whatever, what are you gonna do now?”

“Let’s see....probably just run my bar and visit our local arms dealer for supplies while I still can.”

“What about your mother?”

“The few months that you were gone I had my mother transported to a facility in Atlas. I have someone I trust with her who knows what to do in the case that I’m gone and I’ve already given them enough money to live through two lifetimes.”

“Hah...for once it sounds like you got no strings anymore, so why are you staying?”

Sighing as he looked to the door when Melanie and Miltia came out at least more dressed before Roman gestured to them to the food, “Like you Roman, I was born here in Vale...and I’d rather die here than be some refugee to a different nation.”

“Long as you stay low and out of the way...you should be able to get through the storm that’s coming Junior, you and the girls here.”

“And you expect me to trust you when I’m already wondering if you’re suicidal? What’s your plan anyway?”

“Well...with what I’m hoping to do I probably am, but you mind if we eat first before anything else?”

“Fine, you want anything else?”, pulling out his scroll and they figured he was ordering delivery.

Roman waved no while the girls suggested they wanted sodas before they pushed the coffee Junior got for them to him and Roman.

After a somewhat peaceful meal with the occasional sounds of drunken awakening outside they hear a knock on the door, “It’s open.”, hearing the door open and the only reason Roman actually looked to see who it was, was because he heard wheels instead of footsteps.

“Look it’s a drone.”, following Melanie’s finger as she pointed to the ground for Roman to see a small box like drone on wheels. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s Trig, guess he finished early,” looking at the time while he finished his food.

“Trig? You called up that gearhead?”

“I needed something checked out, and obviously I’d be wasting my time trying to get the stuff to do it myself when I know someone has everything and more to do it for me. Come on.”, grabbing a jacket and a cap as he followed the drone out.

“Hey wait up.”

“We’re coming!”, the twins said together as they followed last after Junior who followed Roman out of the apartment as the drone took them out of the building. First thing they see was the large mess and the people on the street slowly waking up while heavily tattooed gangsters we’re cleaning things up.

“Looks like Gemini is gonna work all morning.”

“Good thing they never complain and always do it when they’re paid.”, but they continued following the drone until it stopped in front of a car. Gesturing them to get in so the twins got in the back, Junior the passenger and Roman the driver.

But before Roman put his hands on the steering wheel the car turned on by itself and noticed the screen in the middle of the steering wheel showing autopilot while the center console lit up to show a road map with an arrow before it drove itself.

“This kid has way too much time on his hands.”

Since he didn’t have to drive he laid back into his seat as he opened the window before lighting a cigarette, “Good thing he’s always prioritized us first by answering our needs when we call him.”

Enjoying the leisurely drive until they entered an underground parking structure and went down nearly four floors before it stopped in front of what the girls figured were some random wall, “Where do we go now?”

“Just wait.”, and within a few seconds the wall opened up before the car continued to drive through a narrow way that appeared to be completely constructed with metal. “I forgot Trig was a fan of spy movies.”

“Least he’s kept himself busy all these years. Can assume he’s still good at what he does.”, the corridor ended as they entered a massive open area but the first thing they noticed was the hangers that the Paladins were placed in.

“You gave him some of those mechs?”

“It’s part of my plan Junior. Sides, if anything he’s improved them to be better than what those Atlas techs could do with it.”, the car pulled into an empty hangar before they got out and was greeted by a robot that guided them through a different hallway.

Eventually they entered a room where all they could smell was dust and cheap fast food. The girls got distracted looking at the random devices and what the maker always called his ‘toys’ while Roman and Junior walked over to the figure who was at a workbench with numerous large TV hanging from the wall that showed what he was working on.

“Looks like you’ve been doing pretty good by yourself Trig.”

Stopping whatever he was doing as he perked his head up and turned before pushing up his welding mask to show them his face, “Hey Boss, Mr. Xiong, you guys sleep alright? You look pretty tired.”

“That tends to happen when you’re drinking all night and early morning, join us next time Trig instead of working on your stuff all the time.”

Waving his hand as he shook his head, “Nah, I don’t like dealing with people. But getting to the point, I figured out what the virus on that scroll you sent is suppose to do boss.”, taking off the welding mask before getting up and walking towards a different room as they followed.

“So what’d you find out Trig?”

“First thing I found out was that’s one nasty little fucker, I had to put up a lot more walls than I thought to isolate it while I let it infect one my pcs. I also took a precaution since it may relay information back to the source so it would negate that process as long as it was inside this building. Where’d you find that thing boss?”

“Let’s just say I didn’t get it by choice.”

“I can imagine even you wouldn’t like carrying it once you knew it could do boss.”

“So, gonna keep us suspence?”

Walking down a hallway until they stopped at a window though the room on the other side was completely pitch black. “I have a surprise set up to show what’ll happen but I figured I show you something a little more up close Boss.”, pressing a button next to the window for the room to light up.

It was a white room with a running computer on a desk in the center and Roman noticed the screen was red with the queen chess piece before noticing the robot standing next to it. The robot turned to look back at Roman and charged to punch and barely put a crack in the window, “Don’t worry, I built that bot with weaker metals so it won’t be able to break this window but this is what I meant when I called it a nasty fucker boss.”

“Not only does it infect and steal all information of whatever it finds it also sends out a specific command for robotics.”

“Let me guess, kill all life-forms?”

“Pretty obvious right?”

“Should be obvious to anyone when a robot wants to kill them,” pointing towards the robot that was still punching the window and trying to break it but from the looks of it, it was only breaking it’s own hands.

Roman- “It’s a fairly simple command for evil robots.”

Trig- “While simple it also points to a critical point. It’s directed only to living beings, so just humans, faunus, animals and whatever science considers a living being with a pulse. But it leaves out one certain species.”

Junior looked at the robot as he was wary since it was putting a few more cracks in the window, “Which one?”

Lighting another smoke before speaking, “The Grimm right?”

“Yup, you always were the smart one eh Boss? Can we actually recognize the Grimm as living beings? Sure we see with our own eyes that they roam, eat, kill like all living creatures do; but can we say for sure they are alive?”

Pressing another button under the one he pressed previously for the panels on the side walls to open up exposing some barrel before it spewed out fire which made them cover their eyes as it lit the entire white room. Walls slid from the ends of the window to close the room before it lit up like a computer screen to show various recordings of hunters fighting the grimms. “From numerous hunters both trainees and first class have all said that Grimm disappear into black smoke after they are killed.”

“They leave no traces that they ever existed except for the memories of terror and anguish. And since history has spoken of them to be soulless and attracted towards negative emotions they could even be seen as evil spirits. Honestly I think that part of Grimm history is a load of garbage but since no one has been able to dissect a Grimm we can’t find out ourselves. So you can see how they could be recognized as not alive right?”

“Yeah I see it, is that related to the surprise that you were gonna show us?”

“Yup! Follow me.”, seeming oddly chipper about it but they followed him regardless a set of hallways before they entered in elevator. “Hold on guys.”, he spoke as he grabbed the handles and placed his feet in the footholds that were installed as they followed suite.

Going full velocity as the elevator suddenly dropped as if they were falling out of the sky for an almost immediate stop. Letting go of the handles as they were getting their bearings “Shit, you need to work on these elevators.”

“Yeah but...the drop gets you pumped right?”, and though the drop was short for them inside the elevator Roman remembered the number showing B5 before they dropped but now showed B40 to suggest they were much deeper underground.

The doors opened up and they walked out with a bit of surprise,

Junior- “What the hell?”

Roman looked around as they walked along an empty street with numerous tall buildings around them, “Is this....Atlas?”

“This is what I wanted to show you boss. Take a look.”, pointing ahead of them for Roman to see an armored beowulf looking their way and charging at them. Only Junior reacted by pulling a pistol but Roman stopped him, “It’s coming right at us!”

Roman saw the smile on Trig’s face as the beowulf was getting closer but it was clear when it charged right through them, as it phased out when it touched them but reappeared as normal after passing through them, “It’s a simulation.”

“You got it boss, call this my Gym. Can change it all with a press of a button.”, pressing a button on his watch before a small screen appeared in front of him. As he pressed buttons the environment changed from an empty city, to the inside of a restaurant, the beach, the mountains and more.

“Alright we get it, so change it back to stable looking ground Trig.”, ordering him and Trig listened as he changed the setting to something Roman was more familiar with, Beacon’s courtyard.

“That’s better. So you said you were gonna show us?”

“Right!,” inputting a command on his screen for a white android holding a rifle to appear that both both of them recognized was one of Atlas’ soldiers. “This guy here is Atlas’ bread and butter, the Atlesian Knight-200, or what the black market just calls the AKs.”

“So Atlas believes that they can take humans and faunus off the battlefield as long as they have enough androids to do the fighting for them. And as such they are given directives but they share one thing, they all recognize Grimm in any shape or form as hostile.”, inputting another command for Roman and Junior to hear a roar to make them turn to see an Ursa.

“Let's simulate a regular battle between the Grimm and the Knights.”, several more knights and Grimm appear before engaging in a fight. “So pretty standard, knights fight the Grimm and win because they’re able to deal damage at a distance while the Grimm are charging without any armor other than their own skin.”

“Let’s change it up a bit,” inputting more commands for the current battle to disappear and instead show human Atlas soldiers fighting with the knights against the grimm. “So this is the basic setup for Atlas military; human infantry stay behind and give covering fire while the knights are the frontline and take the brunt of the damage while actively ensuring the safety of the humans.”

“But now lets add in the virus and what its suppose to do to the knights.”, a red orb appeared next to Trig before he flicked it to send it flying to the first knight and they could see the virus giving it a red glow through the body as it infected the rest of the knights.

They immediately stopped attacking the Grimm and turned around to start firing the Atlas soldiers. “So it’s suppose to kill their comrades, that can’t be just it.”, Junior walked around to look at the Grimm up close.

“You’re right Mr. Xiong,” pushing the screen to float over to Roman while a different screen popped in front of him before he gestured him to pull the slider to the left. And like rewinding a video everything moved backwards until it was at the start of the battle.

Pressing the start button and seeing the battle play out as the virus infected the knights but above them popped up screens which they could see were first person point of view of the knights as they attacked the soldiers, “For some reason the knights’ are streaming whatever they see but heres the more interesting part, can you guess what it is?”

Playing out the battle and Roman was the first to notice it, “The knights....they’re actively avoiding the Grimm. As if they detect it on their left and turn right so they won’t see it.”

Trig- “You got it boss.”

Junior- “What reason is there for that?”

Thinking about it for a few seconds before getting Trig’s attention, “Trig, change the setting to Vale’s streets and make it war-zone themed. Keep the Grimm and the knights but remove the soldiers and add in civilians and a few young hunters wearing Beacon’s uniforms.”

Nodding to that a large screen popped up in front of him as Junior walked over to Roman, “What are you thinking?”

“That witch is doing more than just trying to burn Vale and Beacon.”

The environment changed to Roman’s orders as the area filled up with models of random people and Beacon students. The screens above the knights showing what they were seeing, “Ready Boss.”

“Play it.”, they watched as the battle turned out and civilians were running as the knights and hunters were fighting the Grimm. Holding the red orb in his hand Roman walked over to the closest knight and pushed the orb into them as they changed red along with the other knights. They stopped for a few seconds before turning around and aiming at the hunters.

“Freeze it.”, pausing everything as the hunters looked at the knights.

“Remove the Grimm completely and give me big screens of the knights’ point of view then play it.”, resuming the battle the knights fired on not just the hunters but the fleeing civilians as well.

“What do you see there?”, pointing them to the large screen as they watched from one knight’s view as they gun-downed hunters and the public alike.

“Looks like a bunch of robots going haywire and killing people.”

“We know because of the virus, but if anyone outside of Vale saw this livestreamed without knowing the context then it’ll look like Atlas soldiers invading Vale. She plans to instigate a war by making it look like Atlas trying to takeover another kingdom.”

“Shit....even if the four kingdoms are at peace Atlas has always been unsteady with the others because of their focus on expanding their military. If this goes out then it could be used as evidence that Atlas has been building their army to expand by taking over other kingdoms.”

“Yeah, and even if they try to talk it out we know how that’ll end. Atlas being stubborn and denying any claims while the other kingdoms think they’re just lying. Either way the only ending will be one with blood and metal.”

“What are we gonna do about this?”

Looking towards Trig and he nodded, “Already got started on it when I found out what it can do boss, I’m working on a counter virus in order to eliminate and reverse what the original virus is going to do but in case that it doesn’t work.”, moving a screen down before it expanded at their feet to show a map of the city of Vale.

“I’ve already started working on hacking into the CCT and setting up a system that’ll recognize any streaming related Atlas so it’ll either stop it or at best edit the stream on the fly so it’ll look like some cheap b-rated movie.”

“Are the Paladins still operational?”

“Course and they’re better than ever. Like the knights I’ve set up the usual directives but I can add on some orders that you want, what’d you have in mind?”

“Hide them at the edges of the city facing Forever Fall. Because of the Vytal Festival, the manpower to keep the lines protected have reduced to a skeleton crew. I know she’s going to do something to make Vale generate enough attention that the Grimm will come so have them activate when the horde is coming, that should slow them down and hopefully the noise they make will get people moving.”

Listening to his orders they could see on the edge of the city the paladins were stationed there, “Use this, I recorded all the information I got from some Atlas soldiers in it.”, tossing Trig his scroll before he pulled out a thin cable from his watch and hooked it up to the scroll.

Now on the map of Vale showed where the Vytal Festival was, the Atlas ships and they’re patrol path, along with screen nexts to them showing defensive measures, extraction and more. “Roman...you said you got this from some soldiers...how?”

Him asking that made him remember the face of the first soldier who was victim to his torture and the rest after her...“Had to do some things I’m not particularly proud of....but I knew I wouldn’t get what I needed if I didn’t do it. I’m already disgusted with myself as it is so don’t ask anymore.”

“...What happened to the soldiers?”

Quietly smoking while he was watching Trig interact with the map, “If those tools actually listened then they should be dead but...who knows.”

“You alright?”

“...No I’m not, but I don’t have the time to waste thinking over my sins. I can only move forward from here.”

“...What’s your plan then?”

Gesturing towards Trig, “Give me the layout of the Atlas flagship, the Vytal Festival and the locations of the hospitals closest to the Festival.”, answering every order as large screens popped up in front of Roman.

Trig- “Alright, I got four hospitals within close distance of the Festival.”

Roman- “Which one of them has air transport for emergency pickups?”

Trig- “Uh...this one. It’s only got one on standby but if we’re using it we won’t have to worry where it’ll be since it’s rare for them to be used because they usually only use regular ambulances for the city and Beacon has a high tech infirmary for their students and staff.”

Junior- “That dropship your way onto to the flagship?”

Roman- “Yeah, but once I’m on I have to take care of the crew without killing them so they can fight back later...You think the Old Timer still has those gas grenades?”

Junior- “He always said they made his life easier so he’s got to have some in stock, I’ll contact him to get it for you and a gas mask.”

“Thanks.”, moving the screens aside as Trig got his attention.

Trig- “I’ve been wondering boss, why are you going through with this and making a counter for it? Why not just not do it or just kill the bitch in charge?”

Roman- “Trust me, I wish I could snap her neck in her sleep but even if you cut the head of a snake another will grow in its place. Except in this case the second one is already grown and its in control of the first head. The only reason I’ve been going along with all of this is because I can somewhat predict what she’ll do but...I can’t predict the moves of someone I don’t know and is out of my reach. Though if everything goes like it should then theres a chance she might show up here, then it’ll be possible to take her out along with Cinder.”

Junior- “What makes you so sure they’ll really show up? Or that the hunters from Beacon will lose?”

“I can’t say for sure if they’ll show up, but I can say for sure that people want to see first-hand their plan unfold as everything goes according to their wishes and as for the hunters...No matter what training they have they’re still only human and faunus, they bleed and feel fatigue just like everyone else and I’m certain they won’t be able  to hold back both the White Fang and a Grimm horde.”

After a few seconds of thinking about it they nodded and Junior started talking to Trig about the paladins and more while Roman stared at the holomap of Vale, specifically at Beacon as he pulled out the scroll Ozpin gave him a long time ago, _But I hope I’m wrong on this one..._


	26. Drunken Hospitality

“Are you insane?!”, and Ozpin picked up his coffee cup fast enough before James slammed his fist on his table. “I can assure that I’m quite sane James, and I’d prefer you wouldn’t hit my desk.”

“How could you work with a criminal? And one whose charges have skyrocketed within mere months!”

“I can imagine that the military is no stranger to undercover operations James.”

“That and this are two different things! In a military op it’s our people out on the field, not some crook who’s been a killer since he was ten!”

“Since you say that I trust you know Roman Torchwick’s past history?”

“I do and it’s stained with blood from the fact that he was a monster even before his recent activities!”

“James, please calm down. While I still don’t fully agree, Ozpin had his reasons to use someone already bred in the underworld and it has shown its merits.”

“What merit is this?!”, placing his scroll on the desk for Ozpin’s desk to be connected as it displayed several photos of destroyed buildings and a few dozen civilians receiving treatment for their injuries.

“I understand the consequences of his actions and am fully ready to take the responsibility for them but I’d like you to acknowledge that the hole was closed by him and he reduced the amount of lives lost that day.”

Still feeling a bit of anger inside of him but he couldn’t deny that the hole wasn’t closed by his men or any hunters so he kept thinking as he sat back into his chair. “You’ve been rather quiet Qrow.”

Looking to their left to see Qrow quietly drinking from his flask as he was more relaxed in his chair than James. “Like Glynda said, you’ve got your reasons. That’s more than enough for me.”

“Well I thank you for your trust in me, but as we’ve heard James opinion, I’d actually  liked to know your own opinion on this matter as well.”

Looking at him as Qrow took another swig from his flask, “Unlike you Jimmy, the rest of us know when to take an opportunity, good or bad as long as it gets the results. From what I’ve heard while I was out in the field it sounded like they were already targeting Roman Torchwick before they even came to Vale, so it was a good thing he was on our side. He may be a killer but it was widely known in the underworld that the kid was the one responsible for Vale’s worst gang becoming as strong as they were so he’s smart enough to get things done. He was probably smarter than you Jimmy.”

“....I still don’t agree with any of this.”

“Tch....can’t just be **flexible** at least **once** can you Jimmy?”

“Not when the sole operative is and was a wildcard since they’ve been born. If it was at least someone who followed orders than this situation would be more acceptable.”

“You can’t control what happens or what people do, that goes for the same with those directly under your command James. All we can do is comply with the actions and face the consequences that come along with the paths we’ve chosen to walk.”

Seeing the look on James face as he slowly accepted his words...“Well...do we at least know where he is right now?”

“He’s done well to disguise himself into the general public but from what I’ve heard the last sighting of him was at a block party in the more dangerous part of the city after the first half of the Vytal Festival matches. Do you plan to search for him?”

“We need to establish a more stable means of communication.”

“I wouldn’t worry that much, while it does strike a dent in our security’s ego he has already hacked into the systems to contact us once. I’m certain he’s capable of doing it again.”

“....You have too much faith in this criminal Ozpin.”

“Possibly, but it’s my choice and mines alone.”

“Sigh....when can you expect him to contact you again?”

As if on cue the shades came down on Ozpin’s windows before the large screen behind him lit up for a few seconds for a line of bars that one would find on a stereo screen to show up. “Now I remember why joining the army never crossed my mind, thanks for the reminder Irondick.”

Standing up and Ozpin luckily picked up his coffee cup again before James slammed his hands on the table as he stood up. “Who are you?!”

“For a General I’d figured you’d be smarter than this, guess I was wrong. Here’s a hint, you’ve been bitching about me for the last thirty minutes.”, as they watch the bars go up and down when they listened to his voice.

“I like’em already.”, Qrow having a smile on his face to see an angered James before he resumed to drinking while Glynda shot him a glare.

“How come you’re not showing yourself this time Roman?”

“While I’d love to see sweetheart’s pretty face Ozzy, I’m just a little too afraid to see anyone with the letter G in their title. And obviously there's still the one probably drinking something that lets him avoid these conversations, which sounds very good right about now.”

“Don’t push your luck Torchwick. Once this is over you’ll be stuck in a cell for the rest of your life!”

“With how this is going my body will be cold before you even get to me, so don’t be so hopeful to lock up a monster General.”, that single statement made them silent as they were questioning how serious his words actually were.

“...Roman, did you have something for us?”

“Thanks to an associate of mine, I’ve learn a few new things. But out of everything there was one thing that seemed the strangest, though after some personal digging I learned exactly what it is.”

“And?”

“General, pull your girl from the tournament while you can without raising suspicion. You know which one I’m talking about.”

“What are you saying?....James?”, Glynda turned to look at James as even though his face didn’t show it she could see there was a bit of shock and grim. “Show your face Torchwick.”

“Lik-”

Ozpin- “Roman, please comply.”

“....Fine, since Ozzy asked so nicely.”, and for a few seconds the bars filled up the entire screen before going to white to then show Roman in some type of room made entirely of metal.

“Happy?”

“....Are you saying that the enemy’s next move will involve her?”

“Considering how **special** she is General, you should be able to imagine what can happen to her.”

“Then..the only choice is to keep them in the tournament.”

Only Glynda reacted while Ozpin and Qrow stayed silent as they seemed to understand James’ choice more than her, “What are you saying? He’s given you a warning that may cost a life James!”

“Hahaha!”, shocked by his laugh Glynda turned back to the screen to see the laughing Roman, “Wow, I take it back General. You’re as cold as you are smart.”

Glynda- “What?...”

Roman- “Come on sweetheart, need me to say it for you? If they’re making their move only when this specfic person is involved then obviously they’re gonna be there to see it happen. Sacrifice one to catch’em all.”

Looking back at James, “James! You can't be serious, this is a student we’re talking about!”

Sitting back in his chair as he clasped his hands together to rest his head on them, “I know...”

Ozpin looked at James who, even though he said what he’d do, was going back and forth about it in his mind before he turned back to Roman, “Is there anything else you have for us Roman?”

“My preparations for the storm are already underway but it won’t stop it, I hope your plan is better than mines Ozzy.”, seeing Roman lean back in his chair before he snapped his fingers and the screen disconnected as the windows opened back up to let the light in.

Turning around to see Glynda with her arms crossed glaring at James who was still thinking about what just happened while Qrow simply shrugged his shoulders when their eyes made contact. Qrow getting up from his chair, “Well if that’s all there is, I think I’m gonna visit my girls then get a drink. You know where to find me Ozpin.”

\---------

“You can do it Rubes!”

“Come on kid, yah can’t even touch me!”

“Ahhh! One more hit! Come on!”

Sat down in their form room as Ruby and her Uncle Qrow faced off each other in a fighting game while Yang cheered for her baby sister. But her efforts bore no fruit as Qrow used a combo to finish Ruby’s character off. “Aw man...”

“My turn!”, quickly shoving Ruby to the side for her to be slightly dazed but rebounded back quickly cheer on Yang as she attempted to beat their Uncle. They continued to play various games while they eagerly question him about his missions and other exciting things they come to know he experiences. “And you really expect me to believe four little girls were able to stop a hardened criminal and all his goons?”

He quickly locked Yang down with a combo as her health bar was going into the red, “Why not?”

“Its good to be a believer kid, but gotta have some logic in there.”, seeing the finish screen as Yang groaned over her lost. The screen disappeared as they disconnected their scrolls, “Well we discovered their plans and got rid of all the grimm when it happened.”

“But who plugged up the hole? And isn’t it a little weird that once the news hit of Torchwick’s death that all crime in the city stopped?”

“Well when you say it like that...”

“Not saying you didn’t do good Ruby, just saying you gotta look at your surroundings more. Never know what you might have missed if you don’t look.”

“Hey Uncle Qrow...have you ever met anyone that you couldn’t figure out if they were good or bad?”

“Talking about Torchwick? Ozpin tell you guys?”

Nods. He was about to reach for his flask but...something in him told him not to and just continued on, “Well, once you guys see the real world you’ll understand why people do bad things with good intentions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alright, tell me. Do you guys think I’m a bad person?”

Ruby- “Of course not, you’re our Uncle Qrow.”

Yang- “But you’re kind of a womanizer.”

“Well maybe only to you two but lets say some of my missions...I’ve done my fair share of bad stuff. When you’re older you realize the only thing that matters is your choice and if it was for something important to you.”

Yang- “Still...all the stuff people said he did when he was on the news was pretty bad...Plus he didn’t look much older than us.”

“Yeah but he was younger than you when he did some scary stuff.”, saying as he quickly pulled out his flask and drank while Yang and Ruby looked at him with a very confused look on their faces.

Ruby & Yang- “Huh?”

“What?”

“You met Roman before?”

Slowly thinking back on his words before repeating what he said in his head, “Well...I didn’t really meet him so much as I saw him once in a pretty shady bar.”

“Really? What was he like then?”

“Hmmm....I could tell you....but I won’t.”

“Aw what? You can’t leave us in suspense!”

“I can and I will.”, putting his flask away before getting up from the bed as he headed for the door, “Well I’m not gonna spend the rest of my evening with some little girls, I’ll see you guys later.”

“Hey Uncle Qrow.”, turning around as Ruby called him. “Yeah kid?”

“What do you think made Roman and anyone else bad guys?”

“You know I can’t give you a right answer for that but...after how long I’ve lived. Theres no bad guys or good guys, just people making their own decisions...just like you and your team. But since you’re asking me this I guess it means your gut is telling you something....want my best advice? Follow your gut and move forward, because what matters is the future you make from your actions. Don’t forget that.”

Waving his byes as he left the room and they could hear his footsteps as he walked away, “..It’s surprising to hear Qrow sound serious.”

“Maybe...we made him remember something when we asked him about Roman when he was younger?”

“Who knows...”, beep...pulling her scroll out to check her text message, “Hey I’m gonna meet up with Blake for something, wanna come?”

“Nah I’m good, have fun sis.”, waving bye as she watched Yang get up and leave the room while it left her in the comforting silence of her dormroom. Thinking about their conversation made her remember the past conversations she had with Roman but just one thing stuck out....

_It’s not what I have to gain, it’s that I can’t afford to lose._

“Not what I have to gain but I can’t afford to lose.....what can’t he afford to lose....?”, racking her brain as she was trying to think what it could be that he’d be willing to do all the horrible things hes done yet....“Come on brain....”, eventually she gave up as she sighed since it was clear she couldn’t figure it out if she barely knew Roman. And the only times they’ve met are when they're fighting each other or when he’s.....thinking of the time at the club made her a bit red as she had to admit her reaction was a bit much...

Hearing a door open along with the sound of heels she perked her head up to see Pyrrha coming out of her team’s dorm room, “Hey Pyrrha.”, waving to her before she looked to her and smiled, “Hey Ruby.”

“Where you headed?”

“Ah I was just going to take a walk, want to join me?”

“Sure.”, getting up to side with Pyrrha as they left the dorms and made it outside to walk along the courtyard. “Something on your mind Ruby?”

“Huh?”

“You had this serious expression on your face for awhile now.”

“Oh sorry...I was just thinking about what I was talking about with my Uncle. Like why people do the things they do like...”

“You mean Roman? Sorry I overheard and couldn’t find a chance to leave the room without making you guys notice me.”

“Well...what do you think? I mean you talked with Roman before, did he seem all that evil?”

“I..don’t really know, he never talked much about himself and he always seemed to know you even though you’d never met before. You could say he always gave out one hand but he held a knife in his other to protect himself...I still don’t understand people like him...”

“That’s how I feel, which is why I didn’t really know what to feel when I heard he died. Like, should I be happy hes dead but...I’d never wished someone to be dead in the first place.”

Stopping to sit at a nearby bench, “You’re not the only one conflicted over it Ruby.”

She looked confused for a second before she remembered that Ozpin only told her and her team that Roman was on their side so she was curious why Pyrrha would be conflicted over his death, “You mean, you’re troubled by it Pyrrha?”

“Well in a sense....I still owe him a debt that I can’t repay if he’s not with us anymore. You remember when you guys asked me who it was who brought me to the hospital?”

“Yeah?”

“The one that I fought at the estate and the one who took me to the hospital was Roman. I lost consciousness after the explosion but I barely woke up when I heard them talking about what they were stealing and the girls with him said that I’d be taken away by the other criminals attacking the estate if I was still there.”

“So he did save your life...”

“Should I feel grateful that Roman the villian is no more..or do I feel sorrow for the person that was my savior? I don’t know, which is why I feel that I can’t call him evil outright even after everything hes done.”

Putting it together Ruby could understand why Pyrrha was conflicted about it, do you damn your savior if their a monster or do you feel grief for them but she couldn’t give her an answer for it even if she had one she thought would be right. “Hey Pyrrha.”

“Yes?”

“Is there something...you think you couldn’t afford to lose?”

“Something I couldn’t afford to lose....did Roman say something like this to you before?”

“Sort of...but I didn’t really understand so I wondering what you’d say to maybe help me figure it out.”

Putting a hand to her chin as she was thinking while looking up at the sky, “If I had something I couldn't lose....it’d have to be the bond I share with my parents, my team, Jaune....and you Ruby. Before I came to Beacon it was rather lonely but you guys always make it so much more exciting and you don’t treat me like some special person like others did, just as if i was like all of you.....Does that help?”

She could see the cogs turning in Ruby’s head as she thinking about it now with her response but, “...Still nothing, but thanks Pyrrha.”

“Anytime Ruby.”

\---------

Checking his scroll to look at the time as he noticed the sun was going down before he saw the sign of a bar. Stepping inside it was relatively empty except for a few oddballs spread out through the room but he headed for the counter.

There was already someone sitting in the center of the bar but he couldn’t see who they were since they had their hoodie up. There was other seats but the bartender was where the hooded figure was sitting so he sat next to them, “Hey Bartender, can I ge-”, before even finishing his request the bartender turned to set down a glass filled with ice and what he could smell was scotch in front of him.

Looking at the drink before looking at the bartender who was wiping the inside of a cup with a rag, “I didn’t even order yet.”

“Courtesy of the gentleman next to you.”, nudging his head to the side for him to look at the hooded figure who had more than a few bottles of beer and whiskey to the left of them, “Well I won’t turn down a drink but I’m afraid I’m more a ladies man pal.”

The bartender left to tend to another customer as Qrow drank his drink, “Don’t worry, I’ve never found that much interest outside of women. Guess we’re alike huh Qrow? Or would you rather be called Ronan, how about Darius?”

It took Qrow a few seconds for those names to hit him before he noticed a hint of orange hair peeking out from his hood before he laughed as he took the whiskey bottle that wasn’t empty in front of him as he poured himself a drink, “Shouldn’t you be dead Roman?”

“I’d say the same to you, but I guess after every crew got taken down so did the ‘mysterious man’ along with them. Though I was pleasantly surprised to find that the drunken mess was actually a well known hunter and even a school teacher, who figured?”

“Heh. What are you doing, drinking your sins away?”

“Who knows, I’ve been drinking a lot more lately. It’s even been tasting as good as my smokes too.”, tapping on the pack of cigarettes on the counter.

“Well I’m not a smoker so I don’t know about you but drinking is always good in my book.”

“You’re a real piece of work aren’t you?”

“Right back at ya scumbag....you know I should kick your ass for putting your hands on my nieces.”

“I’m sitting right here, go ahead.”, egging him on as he started drinking again too.

Taking a glancing look before he went back to his drink, “What’s stopping me from finishing you off and stopping this whole mess?”

“Even if you kill me the show will still go on, in fact it’ll be worse if I can’t play my cards. Besides....from your conversation with Ozpin and them it sounds like you’ve seen things even I haven’t when I’m the one in her hands. Be real, Ozpin will need all the help he can get, even if one of them is a piece of shit.”

Roman waved the bartender to come bring another two shots for him and Qrow, “Think of it as a thank you for saving my ass when the deal went bad all those years ago.” Gesturing him to drink.

“Huh...when you say like that I can’t refuse can I?”, taking the shot as Roman took it but unlike Qrow who took it in one shot he put the cup back. Qrow suddenly felt drowsy and as he had his elbow against the counter had slipped with his head fallen on the counter. “Y-you son of bitch...you poisoned me?”

“I’m not that dirty, just something to put you to sleep and when you wake up you won’t remember this conversation or this night ever happening.”

“Uncle Qrow?”, hearing his name Qrow slowly turned his head to see Ruby and Yang coming in through the front door. “How?”

“I called them, you’re a drunken mess and should get some rest Qrow.”

“It’s been nice drinking with you Qrow, but I’m sure this’ll be the last time or rather the last time you’ll ever want to meet me. Also, I got one last favor to ask of you.”, as he grabbed Qrow’s left wrist.

“Your girls? Make them stronger.”, raising his hand and even Qrow was surprised as Roman answered while mimicking his voice. “Over here guys!”

“Roman...wait...”, dropping his hand as he got up.

“Catch you later Mr. Hunter.”, walking towards the exit as Yang and Ruby were coming to the counter. He kept his head down as he lit a smoke while he passed them and headed outside, he stopped to look at the night sky before he felt something and looked ahead of him. Across the street was an alley but for some reason it was completely pitch black except for glowing red eyes staring back at him which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Hearing the door to the bar open again to glance and see Yang and Ruby carrying an unconscious Qrow. Roman walked in the other direction while he heard them walking away before he felt his sleeve being tugged, “Excuse me, you’re the one that called us right?”

Recognizing Ruby’s voice but he didn’t turn, “Guy was pretty drunk so I figured I’d help him out.”

“Um, thank you for helping out my Uncle....Roman.”

Pausing for a second but figured Ozpin must’ve somehow slipped something since only him, Glynda and his people are the only ones who know he’s alive. His brain told him to deny...but his gut said it didn’t matter anymore, “Don’t thank me kid. Cause the next time we meet, only one of us is gonna walk away.”


	27. Fear

**8:00 AM**

Waking to the sound of machinery made him open his eyes to see the ceiling before looking around to find himself in an office while he looked outside to see people workers on the job. It took him a few seconds after he sat up and saw the freight elevator that he remembered he’d slept at the factory which was also the entrance to the Black Market.

Looking around the office to see a few men and women looking at computer screens and busy filing while they paid him no mind before an older man who was the foreman came in holding a small plastic bag and a paper bag. Not saying anything as he put the two on the ground in front of Roman before he grabbed his hat off his desk and went back out to the work floor.

When he was young he figured they never questioned or bothered him when he came to the factory because they always knew Roman was under some gang and afraid of consequences if they did. But he learned that they were thankful of him because when he started working for Bastion was the same time that his father quit his job at the factory which also ended their torment of a hellish foreman who verbally and physically hurt the men and sexual harrased the women. Though he also learned that their kindness when they showed it was because they pitied him for being the son to an extremely abusive man who took on their pain.

Checking both contents he found medicine for headaches, migraines, and other pain relievers while the other had a sandwich, an orange, yogurt with a plastic spoon, and a water bottle. Grabbing the bags he sat at a desk that he’d remember was always empty, because the name Torchwick was etched into it with a knife.

As he was eating and taking the medicine he needed at the time he looked as a beautiful thirty year old brunette wearing the worker’s uniforms came up to him with hot coffee. “H-here Roman....”

“...I told you not to call me by my first name Liv, we’re not close and we never should be.”, taking the coffee from as she simply nodded while he noticed her rough hands.

“Um....it’s been awhile and I-i heard that you died but e-everyone knew you’d be alive...”

“Heh, if I was dead then you’d all finally be rid of the Torchwick bloodline right?”

“N-no!”, she stuttered but her outburst got everyone’s attention as eyes moved towards them but they saw it involved Roman and they chose to look away. “R-roman is a good person....f-family to everyone here...we’d be sad.”

Scoffing at that as tears were welling up in her eyes before he opened a drawer to pull out a handkerchief to her. “T-thank you...um...R-roman?”

“Yes?”

“S-seria turned...fourteen last month....c-can she finally meet you?”

Setting down the yogurt....“We agreed, we’d never meet. Ever.”

“B-but shes been curious a-and wondering where her d-daddy is...”

“How is that my problem Liv? You’re pretty, fall in love and make sure the foreman finds out he’s a good guy then.”

“Y-you could be her daddy...y-ou’re suppose to be close....”

Clenching his fists as the only thing that popped up in his mind now was his father before he got up and confronted her as she appeared frightened, “Why would you want your daughter’s father to be your rapist’s son huh?!”

“Y-you not like him...”

“My name is still Torchwick! You should be disgusted with me! He continously raped you when you were sixteen while I was five, if anything you should want me dead for even being related to that piece of shit!”, though he stumbled back into his chair as he felt a throbbing pain in his head.

“R-roman?!”, looking worried but he raised a hand to stop her from running out to get the foreman before he took more of the pain relievers. Hearing the door open they looked to see the one they knew as the Foreman as he walked up to the desk they were at and tapped Liv’s shoulder, “Olivia, please step out. The rest of you too, give me a moment with Roman.”

Looking at the scene they listened and left the office while Olivia nodded and was the last to leave the room as she closed the door behind her. He sighed as he took off his hat and brought a chair to sit in front of the desk, “It’s been awhile since you’ve slept on that couch Roman, something on your mind?”

Though Roman was preoccupied checking his pockets for something but the Foreman assumed what he was looking for and nodded to the drawers. He checked the other drawers to find the bottom one had several packs and numerous lighters before he lit a smoke, “Theres nothing on my mind Brian, never has been.”

“You only ever sleep here when you’re troubled and I know you’re not doing good when you reek of booze.”

“Since when were we close enough for you to actually care about me?”

“Everyone here and I owe you more than what we can pay back for taking on your father’s abuse when you became his sole source of income after he left the factory. The least we can do is care.”

“If you really care then you can do something about Olivia and Seria then Brian, make her give up that pipe dream.”

“....I knew your father a long time before he destroyed himself Roman, so I know that when you killed your father you also killed the only family you had left in this world. But you can have a family again....Olivia cares about you and Seria doesn’t need to even know you’re half-siblings but you can be a father to her.”

Slamming his fist on the desk as the cigarette fell from his lips, “Get this straight Brian, Ryan Torchwick had only a son and that son is gonna make sure the name doesn’t pass on. Olivia Pierce got knocked up by a former colleague and had Seria Pierce, we are not related and I don’t give two shits about her or anybody else here.”

“I know you don’t mean that Roman, but do you want to know why I brought this up?”

“No and honestly I don’t care because it’s starting to give me headaches.”

“....Because you look like you’re dying Roman, I’ve seen you at your worst before...but it was never this bad.”

“And what, you thought having a family would help me how?”

“It might help you realize your importance to others, but I was thinking more about how it would stop you from doing whatever stupid thing you’re planning to do. You could even take them and leave to Atlas or Mistral, just somewhere away from Vale. Alive.”

As he said that Roman felt the same chill he felt last night and his eyes wandered to see in a dark corner of the factory was the same glowing red eyes except now he could the top half of a white skull. “...Roman Torchwick a family man? You’re getting old and crazy Brian.”

“Maybe, but I’d rather be old and crazy then alive while someone I know barely a third my age is dead.”

“....Don’t you have a factory to run Brian?”

“Think about it Roman, but know that we’ll support you. And I already owe you my life...”, as he raised his left arm for Roman to look at his cold mechanical arm, “...so whatever you choose to do I won’t stop you.”

Putting his hat back on while grabbing the trash on the desk to throw it in the trashcan before he left the office and the workers came back in to resume their work while Olivia was hesitant to approach him again. Though Roman eyes wandered back to the glowing red eyes except instead of the top half it was the bottom off of a skull that looked like a smile to him....

Hearing footsteps come up to see Olivia with a towel and a suit, “R-roman, you should use the locker rooms to take a s-shower....you’ll feel b-better after it.”, thinking about it for a few seconds as he reached for the towel and suit.

Taking it from her, “I’m sorry for snapping at you and tell Seria...I said hi.”, which he saw put a slight smile on her face as she nodded while he went to the door that was labeled men’s locker room. A few were there but once they made eye contact they immediately left him in silence as he stripped before hitting the showers.

Cleaning himself up and washing away the smell of booze before he put on the suit and checked himself in the mirror as he was fixing his tie when Brian’s words ringed through his mind..... “Family...”

But as he finished his tie he looked directly at the mirror to finally notice that the suit was similar to the one his father wore which angered him as he punched the mirror for it to shatter to pieces along with his bloody right hand, “Family...what a sick fucking joke.”

Hearing the door suddenly open, “R-roman?!”, Olivia came in likely because she heard the shattering mirror as she came to check his bloody hand before calling for help to which Brian and another woman with a medkit came to try to clean and patch up his hand but they never noticed Roman’s focus was still at the broken remains of the mirror.

Even though he knew it was a probably because he was tired, but on the left side of the shattered mirror he could see his father’s face with a mocking expression while the right side of the mirror was the glowing red eyes with a complete white skull that seemed to be smiling at him.

\----------

**11:15 AM**

“So you said you had something special to show me Trig?”, walking down the corridor tapping his cane against the wall as he followed Trig.

“I figured since the plan involves letting a Grimm invasion happen I’d do some other digging about them and found something interesting.

Stopping at a door before he entered a code into the keypad next to it for it to open, “By the way, what happened to your hand Boss?”

Opening and closing his bandaged right hand as they stepped into the room, “Something annoying needed a good punch.”

It was a large empty room that lit up once they entered except at the center was a large glass room that was completely darkened and he couldn’t see inside it, “What’s that?”

Trig tapped his foot on a square in the floor near the glass room for a pedestal with controls to rise, “That boss, is an Ursa.”, pressing a button for the glass room to light up and reveal a full grown sleeping Ursa.

“First time I’ve seen one asleep, much less not trying to kill me. How’d you get it?”

“I bought it off some Hunters who were selling some in Tartarus, usually rich people buy the baby or teen ones to use as game while they usually just kill off the older ones if no one buys them for whatever reason.”

Walking up to the glassed wall and lightly tapped on it for them to perk their head up and yawn before getting up to circle around and returning to a sleeping position much like a cat. “So, what did you find out that you had have a live Grimm for Trig?”

“Well you know how Grimm are basically animals right? They sleep, drink, eat like regular animals do right? Then they must also share some traits as the animal forms they’ve taken. You know about dog whistles right?”

“Yeah, you blow one and obey their owners once they use the whistle out of pain from hearing a high pitch sound only they can hear.”

“What if the Grimm would react to something like that? So I’ve looked up numerous whistles for all kinds of animals and did some trials. After a while I was able to modify one of them to have a low chance of momentarily stunning them for a few minutes.”

“If stunning them is the low chance, what’s the high chance reaction?”, and Trig inputted a command for a speaker to rise up from the floor behind them. He gestured him to focus on the Ursa as he turned it on and he could hear a pinging sound coming from the speaker.

The Ursa woke up in pain as it covered its ears before it turned its attention in the direction of the speaker, which was also the direction of where they were standing. Getting up to immediately charged at the wall to just slam its head against it before it began to violently slash at the glass wall with its powerful claws, “It can’t see us, but it knows exactly where the sound is coming from and...”

To prove it he inputted several commands for speakers to rise up next to the walls and Roman could see which one was activated due to the green light that lit when it was working. But just like he said, the Ursa attacked the glass wall that had the activated speaker as it switched between the four speakers, “..It has a violent if not murderous reaction as it actively seeks to end whatever is causing the noise. This noise is basically either a shitty stun gun or a very _very_ effective attractor.”

Turning off the speakers for the Ursa to appear to be out of breath but covering its ears as it collapsed to the ground. But Trig noticed Roman was still standing in front of the glass wall staring straight ahead. “Boss?”

“....I’m listening.”, to Trig he only saw the Ursa but for Roman, standing inside the glass room and staring at him was the glowing red eyed skull with now a cloak of darkness flowing to the ground with the feeling that his life would end if it touched him.

“Well I figured we could incorporate it into your plan Boss, I can even run possibilities in my Gym so we can determine how effective it can be.”

Not taking his eyes off the skeletal entity as he answered while it raised its hand which was all bones and scratched the name Torchwick into the glass, “Go ahead and run it in the Gym, I’ll be sure to call Junior so we can meet in a few days to discuss the final parts.”

“Boss?...You doing good?”, finally looking away from the skeleton to answer Trig with his usual charming smile, “I’m always good aren’t I?”

“Hmm...alright Boss, I’ll get started on it. You know the way out by now right?”, not waiting for him to answer as he left the room first while Roman turned back to the glass room but the skeleton was gone and so was his name in the glass which only left the Ursa finally resting in the room.

\----------

**2:30 PM**

Walking down the street as it was filled with people mostly talking about the matches but as he walked past an electronics store he saw Yang and Weiss’ match against a rather...interesting pair from Atlas but he could see that Yang was still using her anger to drive her raw power. “....Maybe I should have just left a note on him to find if he really forgot everything I said last night...”

Though as the battle continued he noticed the side showing the battles that happened or will happened today and the only one that stuck out was Mercury and Emerald’s victory over Coco Adel and her team member Yatsuhashi. “Guess your plan is going smoothly eh Cinder?”

Lighting a smoke as he continued walking to end up at a coffee shop that was near the transport station which had a drop landing from Beacon. Sitting outside on the second floor patio since he was able to find an empty table in the corner while he noticed some students from different academies based on their uniforms were hanging out. Though it made him sure that no one would recognize him as he was too tired to try and dye his hair a different color and just wore a hat that covered his hair while wearing shades.

Checking his scroll to go through his messages from Junior and the twins as he glanced up to where they had a TV screen set up near the middle which was showing a recap of the first round matches and discussing the skills of each team while they had the second round matches next up. But for reason the screen bugged when it showed team RWBY and it stalled but as he was staring at it Ruby’s form had changed into the cloaked skeleton and her mechanical scythe was replaced by a wooden one that already had blood dripping from its sharp edge....

“H...”

“Hey!”, hearing a female voice along with the sound of a hand tapping the table before he turned his eyes ahead of him to see Glynda. “Huh....don’t remember setting up a meeting sweetheart.”, glancing back to the TV screen as the skeleton was gone and it was doing the recap like normal.

Gesturing her to sit as she did when it looked like she was studying him with the way she was looking at him, “Ozpin was a bit worried from our talk yesterday and he wanted me to try to find out how you’re doing. But just from a glance, you don’t appear to be well.”

“Heh, didn’t know I needed a therapist dear.”

“Do you? You are a victim of child abuse and....molestation...”

A bit surprised from her knowledge, “Now who told you that?”

“We all have ways Roman, but I’d like to know. Are your old scars troubling you?”

Sipping his coffee, “Thought you didn’t like me, why would you want to help me? And don’t tell me it’s cause of Ozpin because an independent woman like yourself doesn’t have to listen to orders if you didn’t want to.”

Crossing her arms as she looked away from him which was the response he was expecting but he felt a chill down his spine again, “Even if you are a troublesome man....you’re not the worst one I’ve met. And while I don’t condone any of your actions or way of thinking....I can understand after learning about your history....Roman?”

She had already noticed Roman’s bandaged right hand but she heard a noise to see he was crushing his cup as his eyes were on her but realized that he wasn’t actually looking at her. For Roman he was looking at the skeleton that was directly behind Glynda as he could only see the right side of its face as it raised it’s right hand to see a red string tied to it’s forefinger. But the reason he was unknowingly crushing his cup was because he didn’t want to react as he felt something tightened around his neck before he assumed it was the red string wrapped around his neck.

“Hey...Hey!”, snapping his focus away from the skeleton as she grabbed his wrist to make him notice he already crushed his cup to have hot coffee spilled all over the table and his bandaged right hand. “What’s wrong with you?”

Grabbing napkins from the container in the center of the table as she helped take off the bandaged and clean up the spilled coffee. But as she was she glanced to see he was simply looking at his hand while stealing glances looking back up at.....whatever he was looking. She turned to find nothing that she figured would actually keep his attention enough to the point that he couldn’t even react to burning coffee on his hand. Turning back to him, “Roman...what are you looking at?”

Shaking his head as he pulled back to rub his hand and she could see numerous cuts on his right hand, “You of course. it’s hard to take my eyes off you sweetheart, you’re just so alluring you know?”

Answering her with a smile but to her it was probably his most forced smile that he’d ever shown her before and his words didn’t have the same feeling or confidence with how he usually talks with her. “..From the meetings it sounds like your trust in Ozpin is more than the others realize, so you can trust me as well Roman.”

He knew it all had to be a hallucination..not knowing whether it was because of the drinking, the stress, the painkillers or just everything combined was starting to actually make him crazy as this entity was always nearby but only he could see it. “What do you mean? Of course I trust you, haven’t I always Glynda?”

“Just talk to me Roman.”

“Heh....what would you do if you saw something you know isn’t real, but it’s real enough to you?”

Seeing his focus was actually on her this time but he still seemed nervous as he was grabbing his right wrist rather tightly, “...I’d tell someone what I was seeing and try to find out why I’m seeing whatever it is.”

Tensing up as he felt something behind him while also feeling a hand on his left shoulder, but he didn’t have to look to know it was the same thing on him, “...I don’t think it’s that easy dear.”

Finally letting go of his wrist before he got up, “I think it’s time I leave, enjoy the coffee Glynda.” Quickly attempting to leave before she grabbed his hand to make him stop, “At least...call Ozpin and talk to him, he’ll listen no matter what you say.”

Letting go of his hand to glance behind him to see a concern looked on her face before he chuckled, “Heh...if I talk to him, it’ll only get worse.”

\----------

**5:45 PM**

Taking a stroll as the sun was going down to find himself on the same street as the diner and figured he might as well make a stop. Seeing Sebastian hard at work while Parla was busy taking orders at one end of the diner so he went to the other side and found an empty booth for him to sit down as he thought about what happened today.

Though while he was in mid thought, “Hey there handsome, what can I get yah?”, looking up to a smiling Parla who stopped as she was looking at him carefully before he figured she’d realize it was him, “Ladies choice?”

“Sure thing, be right back.”, putting away her notepad as she left to allow him some relative silence again as he looked out the window. As cars drove by and a few shady looking people walked by did he see the skeleton again across the street staring at him. Except whenever he blinked it appeared to get closer as it was now on the street and it wasn’t long before he was only a few yards away from the window. Roman felt tense as he was honestly hesitating to even blink once more as the one feeling he hasn’t felt much was welling up in him...

“Here you go.”, turning his eyes away to see Parla come back with a plate of pasta and an iced tea before setting it down in front of him, “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need something.”, giving a positive expression before she left though he saw her pull her scroll out to dial someone.

Finally turning back to the window to see only pitch black but...he knew it wasn’t that late as he slowly looked a bit higher to see the red eyed skull looking down on him as its body was pressed against the window. “Excuse me, do you mind if we join you?”

Turning from the skeleton to see Locke and Junior standing there as he sighed and gestured them in, “Who was it, Parla?”

Locke- “You know shes a good girl and worries about you when she thinks of you as a friend.”

Junior- “She also said you looked terrible, and she’s right. You look like shit, what happened?”

Roman- “I’m living in a sewer called Vale, that's what happened.”

Junior- “I’m being serious smartass. What’s going with you? Even that guy from Beacon...Ozpin? Gave me a heads up that you were acting strange when you met one of his teachers.”

Locke- “I heard that you injured yourself at the factory and Brian said that I had to talk to you.”

Starting to eat as Parla came to bring Junior and Locke their drinks, “I’m fine if anything I’m more worried about that woman keeping Neo with her since the tournament started.”

Locke and Junior looked at each other at the first mention of Neo, “Maybe that’s it.”

Junior- “It seems like it.”

Annoyed as he glared at them, “As much as I don’t mind being left out, what?”

Locke- “Even though its true that you’ve been looking out for Neo and keeping her nightmares in check....”

Junior- “It’s also true that she’s also kept you in check to make sure you don’t do anything stupid or in this case, losing your goddamn mind.”

“Tch...you think I need someone to keep me in check?”

Locke & Junior, “Yes.”

Dropping the fork as he pushed his plate away from him, “Great, you guys ruined my appetite.”

Locke- “All we’re asking...is for you to talk. It may help you face whatever problem that you’re having.”

Crossing his arms as he sighed and turned to the window to unknowingly make eye contact with the skeleton as it was staring back at him but for some reason he didn’t feel as tense since they were around, “Locke....about Maria.”

“Yes?”

“On her final days, did she see it?”

“It?...”, looking confused for a few seconds before Junior noticed the sense of dread on Locke’s face. “Roman...how long have you been seeing it? Do you know why?”

“Since last night. I know it’s all in my head but...the feeling doesn’t go away and it’s everywhere I look. Heh...at this point it feels like a stalker cept it’s one I can’t kill off myself. I don’t know if it's cause I’ve been drinking so much or because of the drugs I’ve been taking to alleviate the pain instead of getting actual resting, but it doesn’t matter does it Locke?”

Waving his hand to get their attention, “Mind filling me in? Locke, what happened with Maria before she...died..”

“Maria spoke of her dreams of seeing something strange and I told her it must just be because of the medicine but there was a few times when I went to her that I heard she was talking to...something but as I entered she would always be alone.”

“Who was she talking to?”

Looking at the bracelet on his wrist, “The one who watches you the day you’re born to the day you die Junior.”

Figuring it out and Junior looked to Roman as he wasn’t looking at them but rather was keeping his eyes fixed on the window next to them, “Roman, it’s not real just forget about it.”

“...I know its not real idiot, but it's hard to forget about it if it's there every time I open my eyes. Plus I have a feeling it’ll be there when I go to sleep too.”, staring at the skeleton as it pressed its hand against the glass to show numerous red strings wrapped around it’s fingers before he turned to look back towards Locke and Junior.

Both of them, Parla, Sebastian and everyone else at the diner had a red string wrapped around their neck but they didn’t notice, since it was something only he could see. “Heh....this is bullshit.”

“This may not be the best advice Roman...but you should accept that it is him...it’ll make things easier to handle cause I don’t think lack of rest is the problem here.”

“You’re right Locke, that’s fucking terrible advice. If I accept that the Grim Reaper is on my shoulders then I’m accepting that I’ve gone fucking crazy.”

The two sighed but they noticed Roman eyes had moved back to the window but he was staring up at the sky, “Hey Locke, the cemetery is a bit south of the city right?”

Seeing a slight smile on Locke’s face, “Are you going to visit them Roman?”

“Yeah, maybe seeing them will tell me what’s wrong with me or it’ll let me know that I’m fucked.”, glancing past them as Parla was walking their way. “Parla, can I borrow your bike?”, as he pointed to the black motorcycle parked outside.

“You can take it, I’m getting a new one anyway. I’ll have Seb take me home, drive safely.”, she spoke and tossed him her keys as he got out of the booth.

“Roman, you gonna be alright?”

Glancing behind his shoulder to look at Junior who asked him while the Grim Reaper was standing next to their booth with its head tilted looking at him, “Maybe, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

\---------

**9:00 PM**

With the sounds of the city dying out behind him he continued down the road with the silence of a quiet night until he finally stopped at a stone gate on the left side. Turning off the motorcycle and getting off while pulling out a large bottle of whiskey from the bag he had as he stopped at the entrance of Vale’s Cemetery.

Unlike Forever Fall in the northern region of Vale the grass and the trees here were green as they accompanied the many gravestones occupying this hallowed hill. “When was the last time I came here?....”

“Guessing you been here more times than you can count huh?”, turning his eyes slightly to his right to match eyes with the Reaper staring back at him.

“For a figment of my imagination the least you could do is humor me you know?”, shaking his head as he entered while he could feel the Reaper’s eyes following up the steps and past the rows of graves.

Walking down one path but remembered that they had separated Hunters from normal people and since his parents had differing occupations they had them somewhere else. Turning around but stopping as a body of darkness was in front of him for him to look up to the Reaper, “Mind moving buddy?”

Tilting its head as it looked down on him before he slowly stepped to the side and allowed Roman to continue on as he went up the hill even further. Eventually he stopped at where there was a large tree but there was two marked gravestones set together, though Roman always thought it was a bit strange to even have them....since both graves are empty.

The left grave, belonged to Ryan Torchwick. His hell and what he thought was his lock to freedom before he left him to burn in their old home along with the bitch that made him lose any hope he still had in people.

The right grave, belonged to Serena Torchwick. The missing piece in his life that was gone in mere hours after his birth. Recognized as a hero who fought for others and in the end died doing what she always did best....protecting the lives of others...or so they say... “Hey Reaper, Is it wrong to not have any feelings of sadness or grief for someone who’s a complete stranger even if they’re the reason you’re alive?”

Speaking to the Reaper who was standing by his side as he set down the bottle of whiskey and brought out a pack to light a smoke. Glancing at the Reaper who surprisingly was looking at his mother’s gravestone instead of him before he turned back to him, “Hah...talking to a fucking ghost...but either way it really doesn’t matter anymore.”

He sat down in the space between the two graves as he opened the bottle of whiskey, “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here but it’s not like you guys have anywhere to be huh?”

“There's been something on my mind for awhile old man, what kind of magic did you pull to make people even tolerate your company for more than five seconds?”, drinking from the bottle for it to spill a bit before he stopped and set it down.

“Every time someone mentions you I feel the urge to strangle someone. I’d said it once old man but if I had the chance to burn you again I’d do it in a heartbeat cause if anything, you got off easy for the shit I went through for you. I did everything you wanted...but it was never good enough and I was always a failure to you wasn’t I?’

“Well guess who’s dead and who’s not.”

Silence.....glancing to his right to see the Reaper staring at him like usual, “Though in the end...you’re still my piece of shit father and I hope you're waiting for me in hell cause when I’m there you better believe I’m gonna kick your ass for all eternity.”

After that bit he ended up drinking more of the whiskey until there was only a quarter of it left before he left it in front of his father’s grave. Smoking quietly as he looked at his mother’s gravestone because he had no real words to say since....there was nothing between them in the first place.

They’re strangers even though they’re positions would consider them one of the closest relationships, a mother and her child...but there was no mother and the child died a long time ago as they faced the cruel reality of the world without a hand to show it....“Got nothing to say?”

Recognizing the voice and hearing the sound of heels, “Little girls should stay home when the sun goes down Emmy.  There's rapists in this town you know?”

“Good thing you’re not one of them.”, glancing to his left to see Emerald while he didn’t see the Reaper anywhere and the chilly feeling was gone “What are you doing here Emerald?”

“You’ve been ignoring Cinder’s calls and she got fed up with it so she sent me to find out what the hell you’re doing. Want me to tell her you're having a mental breakdown?”, pulling out his scroll to check that she did indeed call...four times while he was driving.

Shrugging as he smoked, “You got a creative mind kid, tell’er whatever you want.”

“So, how’d they die?”, as she nodded her head towards the graves.

“Reports say Momma Torchwick died protecting an escaping dropship during a Grimm invasion on some village. Papa Torchwick got his ass torched when his useless son left him to burn with his shitty whore in their little home. Good story huh?”

“Do you miss them?”

“...One didn’t even exist in my life and I killed the other one in cold blood, so yes I miss them since I’m very lonely.”, his sarcastic tone made her slightly annoyed but she could smell the alcohol and just chalked it up as the drinking talking.”

“That why you’re so attached to that girl Neo? Since you’re both alone....”

Finishing his cigarette to immediately light another one, “Difference between us is that her family was taken from her, I finished mines off....And since when did you two get so chummy?”

“When Cinder doesn’t have work for Neo to do and doesn’t want her with you so you can be more uncontrollable, we hang out....though she mostly talks about you.”

“Sounds fun, my company these past couple of days has just been bottles, cigarettes and painkillers.”

“...So why are you here? You don’t seem the type to pay respects even to those close to you.”

“Hey, even I have feelings for others too you know, no matter how small they may be. But in any case...I came here hoping for an answer to what I’m dealing with and...”, starring between the two gravestones as the shadows swirled to manifest the Reaper as he rested his hands on the graves while looking down at Roman.

“....I think I know why now.”

“Know what?"

Laying back to lay on the soft grass as he looked up to the starry night with only the light from the embers of his cigarette, “You already think I’m crazy right?”

“...Compared to what I saw when you took me to that underground black market....just a bit crazy.”

His laughter surprised her but she could kinda see on his face he was forcing himself, “Haha...probably right, compared to some of the lifetime criminals in that shithole I’m a damn kitten in comparison.”

She looked at the gravestones expecting his dilemma to be involved with them, “...So what's your deal?”

“..Would you believe me if I said the Grim Reaper was stalking me?”

Hearing only silence which made him chuckle as he covered his eyes, “Yeah, I thought so.”

“I had a younger sister once when I was kid.”, surprised he peeked from his hand to see she was holding her youself as she was looking up at the sky. “Our parents tried to sell us so we ran away...but we didn’t know they already made the deal so the ones they sold us too were after us.”

Sitting up as his interest was piqued on where it was going, “We were able knock one of them out and grabbed their gun. But they ended up cornering us in a dead end room of an abandon building...We already knew what they’d do to us and my sister told me to do something...and I did. I told her to turn around and close her eyes as I pointed the gun at her head.....but I didn’t pull the trigger until I reacted when they banged on the door. The smoke from the gun...the recoil of it on my hand....I tried to do the same when I put the gun to my head.”

“But you couldn’t pull the trigger yourself...”

“I dropped the gun and threw up when I looked at her body before they broke down the door. They beat me up and tore my clothes off, but the police showed up before they could rape me. Cops had me in a squad room but I disappeared and left town because I wanted to get away from it all...I couldn’t accept it..I couldn’t accept that I killed her....I didn’t accept that she was dead.”

Seeing a tear from her eyes before she wiped it off with her hands, “So...to me my sister was alive and we traveled place to place....stealing what we could to survive...until I saw a pair of little sisters walking together hand in hand. I squeezed what I thought was my sister’s hand...but it was nothing....I imagined my dead sister was still alive because I was afraid to be alone...Why do you think you’re seeing Death Roman?”

Taking the smoke from his lips before he put it out next to him, “When you ask it like that, the answer is obvious isn’t it?”

“I put it off for awhile since you were always a dick but...I read Cinder’s file on you. You’ve put yourself in one life threatening situation after the other...what’s different?”

Thinking it too himself as he already set up the plan and predicted how everything would go on his end in his mind. “Difference is...I always had an out. This time...I’ve got none that’ll work....Heh no matter how many times I tell myself, in the end...I’m still afraid to die.”

“There’s more to you than just being afraid to die...but can you admit it?”

Thinking about it as he stared at his mother’s grave before he took out his personal scroll that had everything his original scroll had as he looked through the pictures. Him and Junior, Melanie and Miltia and...Neo...“Hey Emmy.”

Watching him get up as he put his scroll away, “What?”

Lighting another smoke before he looked towards her, “If my plan works, can you still be Neo’s friend?”

“....You know if you used everything and everyone you had you probably wouldn’t have to do whatever it is you’re planning to do.”

“Heh, you’re probably right. But then I’d fear losing everything when it fails.”

“What makes you think it’d fail?”

“Cause this is the real world, and there is no happy endings for people like me.”

He checked the time on his scroll before turning his attention back to Emerald, “Come on, I’ll drive you back.”

Walking down the steps together until they were out of the cemetery before he started the bike before she got on and wrapped her arms around him to hold on. Though he took one last look at the cemetery entrance to see the Reaper standing there with it’s scythe in hand before it simply turned around to walk back into the cemetery. “Still see it?”

Revving the engine before he turned his eyes forward to the road, “I’m gonna see the real one soon so it doesn’t matter.”


	28. Comfort

Sat at the edge of the rooftop of a high-rise as the Sun was coming up to shine over the peacefully quiet city as he lit a smoke after he felt the strong breeze pass by. “Tomorrows the day....ain’t it Neo?”

Hearing light footsteps before he glanced to his left to see Neo sit on the edge next to him before she nodded. “I always knew I’d end up doing something I’d regret, but I never imagine it’d be because I have to let hell loose.”

_ Theres nothing you could have done to change things Roman... _

“...I could’ve taken Sol’s offer when he wanted to expand the Syndicate to Atlas or Mistral...least I wouldn’t be the one having to deal with this shit then if I did. Might have had a better job than free lance criminal too.”

She pulled his left arm up before she scooched over to rest against him after putting his arm around her,  _ We wouldn’t have met then if you did. _

“Least you wouldn’t be involved in this either sweetheart, if anything you’d probably be still helping out Miridan and Nico.”

Looking at her as her facial expression showed that she was thinking about it,  _ I don’t like needles though... _

_ “Heh...Yeah I don’t like them much either...I remember it hurt like hell just jabbing those things in my neck that day.....” _

_ What are you thinking about? _

“Just....thinking about how this feeling of being lost and not knowing what exactly to do reminds me of the day after I was released from the police station.”

_ Hmm? _

\-----------

**Roman : Age 15**

Tumbling over to land face first onto the floor which woke him as he rolled over to blink his eyes open, “Fuck...”, feeling a slight pain in his nose before loud ringing for his eyes to move to look to where his work desk was for clock to be ringing.

Once his brain was actually working and he focused to remember that he fell asleep on his couch the second he came home. Raising his hands to see the marks on his wrists that were left when the cops tightened his cuffs after they brought him in. But the ringing was starting to annoy him and even though he kept pressing the button it wouldn’t stop so he smashed it against the wall for it break into pieces.

Finally...silence filled the apartment which helped him relax and get his thoughts in order. Except once he made eye contact with the shattered remains of the clock he saw the time and quickly got himself cleaned up and dressed before he left his apartment without noticing the note left for him on his fridge.

_ To Roman _

_ Neo, Melanie and Miltia will bring whatever you need so stay home for a couple of days.  _

_ -Junior. _

Since he couldn’t find his car he took a bus and noticed more than a few eyes were on him the whole ride until he got to his stop and could see that the driver was shaking as he got off before they quickly sped off to his next stop. Recognizing the street signs as he lit a smoke before going down the path he remembered walking for years.

Except as he came up to the doors of the tall building he stopped once he saw the yellow police tape barring the doors. Looking confused at first until it popped up in his head, “...Right...they’re all dead now...”

Realizing that coming to the office was part of his routine made him forgot what exactly happened a few days ago until he saw the police tape. Though he wondered what he was suppose to do now...since everything he’d done for the past eight years has been for the Syndicate yet now....there was nothing.

Taking a step back to look up at the building that was once his main work place and where he ended a big part of his life so abruptly but....it doesn’t really feel real. “Huh....guess I’m out of a job....”

Smoking quietly as he kept his eyes on the building before he took a step back when he heard running footsteps come from his right before seeing the switchblade that would have impaled him. Grabbing the wrist before raising his right arm to hit the elbow with his forearm to hear a loud crack before the man’s scream as they dropped the switchblade.

Catching the switchblade to flip and sheath the blade as he stomped on the back of their left leg before hitting the side of their head with the bottom of the handle for them to crash into the ground in pain, “If you were trying to kill me, you gotta be quieter than that sonny.”

Tossing the switchblade back and forth in his hands while the man finally turned for Roman to see he was a little bloody from the hit to the head, “It’s all your fault!”

“Gonna have to remind me what I did, can’t keep track of everything you know?”

They got up as they held their left arm which was limp after the exchange, “You killed them! Now how am I gonna pay for my sister’s operation?!”

Thinking about it now....the Syndicate usually found those in debt or those in desperate need the easiest to recruit and in turn the ones that did work for them would do anything for money or for the pleasure they could provide. “You're a criminal aren’t you? Go steal some store or some rich bastard’s house, even a dumbass like you should have thought of that instead of coming at me.”

“Fuck you! I had a chance and you’ve taken it away!”

“Well, that puts you in quite the spot doesn’t it? Too bad it’s not my problem, nor do I give a crap about your family. You want a solution than make one.”, turning to walk away as he was flipping up the switchblade..

“...By the way..”, immediately turning back to swing a right hook into the man’s jaw for them to spew out blood before he hit his on the street and shaking from the pain before he stepped on his back. “Come at me again, and you won’t be alive to see your sister’s funeral.”, stomping on his back for them to cough out more blood and throw up a bit.

Giving one last kick to the head for them to be knocked unconscious at this point before he spat out his cigarette, “Have a good one jackass.”, turning away to walk the down the street while he could hear the sounds of sirens coming from behind but figured they were for the beaten man.

“Guess I’ll check out the diner....”

After walking quite the distance he realized he was coming up on one of the city’s banks. Recognizing the street, the stores, and exactly where all the cameras were on the street...solely because he had been preparing for a heist for the gang with this bank as the target, before it was a mark, now....it’s nothing but just another building taking up space.

Though he stopped when he felt someone tug on the right side of his pants before he turned to see a small silver haired girl. Before he could get a word out she held out both her hands up to him to reveal a few pieces of lien, “I’m not homeless sweetie.”

“This is thank you, for saving my mommy.”, adamant she took his right hand and put the lien in his hand. “Think you got the wrong guy dear, I don’t remember saving anyone. And I think I’d remember saving a mother with such a cutie.”

Taking her hands to return the lien as she appeared to get shy from the compliment, “B-but...you took care of the bad guys so Mommy doesn’t get hurt anymore.”

Kneeling down to be at eye level as he was curious, “Do you know who I am sweetie?”

She nodded, “You’re Roman Torchwick, Mommy said you were nice.”, before pulling out a photo from her pocket to reveal it to be her and her mother who Roman recognized was one of Sol’s girls that he used to  **seal** the deal when he was doing business at a club or sketchy hotel.

“I see...well next time don’t walk up to random strangers and head home to Mommy kid.”, turning her around gently before pushing her as she started walking while waving bye to him.

Standing back up to pull out the switchblade he took from the man who attacked him, “....There's always rewards and consequences no matter what choice you make huh?....Though the consequences always outweigh the rewards.”, turning back to walk down the sidewalk as he tossed the knife into the trashcan.

Making his way through the streets until he winded up at the diner he’d remembered. It seemed to be a slow day since it was mostly empty except for a few elderly looking folk and a couple of gangsters with the Gemini tattoo’s on their right shoulder. His attention was taking when he noticed a hand waving next to him to see a young bubbly girl with a notepad smiling at him, “Hey Roman!”

“Hey Parla, just coffee is alright.”, poking her forehead to get her face a bit away from him since she was leaning in to close before she nodded, “Okay! Be right back.”

Watching her leave before he looked out the window to see that people were starting to wake up since there were a lot of cars driving by now and just others walking by....he recognized old marks and future marks from their faces on photos he’s had given to him....

Hearing the bell on the door to turn his eyes to see a sketchy pair walk in, “Shit man...what’re we gonna do now? Pretty much everyone pulled out.”

“Tch...if only that fucker didn’t kill them. I had a good thing with a couple of girls and now it’s gone. Hey! Can I get a beer or something?”, two men who appeared to be around eighteen to twenty made their way to the front of the counter before one of them glanced over to where Roman was. “Hey Chaz...ain’t that Torchwick over there?”

Roman made himself appear busy by reading a newspaper but he had a pair of very thin silver push daggers hidden in both of his sleeves ready in case they tried to do the same as the man earlier did and...“Shit it is him.”

Getting up from the counter to walk towards his booth, “Got some fucking nerve-”, but the man called Chaz and his buddy was stopped short when three of the Gemini gangsters got up from the seats and confronted them, “Get out of the way, I got business with that punk bitch there.”

The middle one stepping forward and the height difference made him more intimidating, “No, you don’t.” Looking annoyed Chaz tried to move past him but the man pushed him back to stumble into his companion, “What the fuck’s your problem?! I thought Gemini was neutral, why you protecting that shithead?”

“We’re neutral when we’re on the job. I’m off the clock and this is personal time so piss off.”

“Hold up...ain’t you grocery boy? Well ain’t you quick to get a new job huh? Figures, all you new recruits got no loyalty.”

“I got bills to pay and a kid to take care, I don’t got time to cry over my ex-gathering of thugs disbanding. Now, if you got nothing else to question then you can either leave or we can force you.”

Hearing the sounds of movement made the pair turn to notice more gangsters with the Gemini tattoo got up and looked at them before they turned back to the first one then over to Roman, “Better watch your back Torchwick, you fucked with our good shit and I’m sure as hell others are just as pissed because of you.”

Expecting some comeback but Roman ignored him as Parla walked past them and the gangsters let her through to pour his coffee along with some small talk. “Tch, come on Mac.”, gesturing his buddy as the rest of the diner’s customers watched them leave with the sound of the bell on the door before everyone went back to their own business.

Though the one that confronted the pair came walking to end up next to Roman’s booth, “If you’re expecting a thank you, don’t. No reason to stick your nose in other’s business.”

“I didn’t expect you too. Besides, I should be thanking you. Roman Torchwick right? You planned out the Apollo heist didn’t you?”

“Who's asking?”

Pointing to the two that stood with him earlier while they busy sat at the counter eating, “Me and my boys ran that heist and honestly we thought we were screwed till you sent us a text on how to escape when we were almost cornered. Just wanted to say thanks for keeping us alive and...”

Pulling out a stack of lien while calling out to his buddies as they tossed two more stacks of lien to him before he set them on the end of the his table, “Even though the Boss says we’re neutral, he likes yah so we got your back. Stay safe Torchwick.”, leaving from his table as his buddies got up and left the diner with him.

Finishing up his coffee as he stared at the money....but he took a napkin and a few of the ketchup packets for him to spell something out before setting it front of the stack of lien then got out of the booth. “Leaving already Roman?”

Parla with her smile, “Yeah, I’m not that hungry. You needed a new bike right?”

“Yeah...the one I have breaks so much these days. Why you ask?”

“Just wondering, money's on the table and keep the change for yourself alright? I’ll see you later squirt.”, patting her head as he headed for the door while she went to his table. Hearing a stumble which made him chuckle as he exited the diner to look around.

Lighting a smoke when he heard his scroll ringing to check it was Junior, [You missed an early lunch Junior.]

[Roman? I left a message telling you to stay home, where are you?]

[You know I barely function when I wake up so leaving a message is useless, and I...needed some fresh air.]

[..Just go back home to your place alright? Cops are gonna watch and wait for you to slip up so they can take another shot at you.....], hearing him say that made him looked out of the corner of his eye at a black car with a man and woman inside who he noticed had been following him since he was at Syndicate’s old building.

[..And there's more than a couple of people that ain’t happy with you since they just lost the Syndicate’s cash flow. You know some of these people are fucked in the head so we don’t know how they’ll handle losing their supply so just head back and wait for everyone to cooldown.]

[You think I can’t handle a couple of angry drug dealers and some assholes dealing with withdrawal? Your trust in me is absolutely stunning you know? I’ll catch you later Junior.], hanging up before Junior could get another word to just yell at him for being an idiot.

Looking around before he noticed a couple of ids loitering in the alley across the street from him with a few strange items, so he crossed the street while he glanced over to where the car to see they were still watching him. “Hey kid, wanna make a little cash?”

After a few minutes and the car that was following him had moved up a bit closer to the alley entrance they were surprised to see a group of teenagers come out wearing strange masks that appeared slightly demonic. They eyed them for a second as they walked by their car before they refocused their attention back to the alley waiting for Roman to come out except...

They were shocked as several rocks crashed through their back window and they could hear the sound of their tires being slashed when they saw it was the masked teenagers doing as much damage as they could before the officers got out of their car and started to run. They looked towards the running teenagers before turning back to see Roman leaning on the corner of the alley with a smile on his face as he was smoking before waving to them.

Looking pissed but in the end they ditched their car and ran in the direction the masked teenagers did to give chase, “One down...”, looking around, across the street and at the windows of the apartment buildings to feel eyes on him, “...and just more to go.”

Spending the day aimlessly walking the city while dealing with the few troublemakers that tried to take a crack at him and making it so the couple of officers tailing him didn’t want to anymore after the shit he pulls on them.

As the sun was going down he stopped to sit down on a bench that was facing the sea while the sounds of passing cars died down with the night taking over. Smoking quietly before he heard footsteps to glance then back at to the sea, “You know I don’t listen when I don’t feel like it Junior.”

Junior sat on the other side of the bench and like Roman looked out into the night sea, “I know, and you’ve been leaving a trail of mishaps all day. You know you’re just pissing everyone off right?”

“If I didn’t piss off at least one person a day then I’m truly a failure in life Junior.....Where's the girls anyway?”

“They were looking for you but they told me about what’s been happening over town and told them to take a break at the twins’ place. Since you’d only mess with the twins and or get Neo to go home without even trying.”, Roman offered his pack but Junior refused as he pulled out a flask and drank.

“So mind telling me why you’ve been wandering the city, specifically towards places the Syndicate was planning to hit?”

Watching the smoke float in air before it slowly disappeared, “...It doesn’t feel real....since I was blind while I was in that cell all I was thinking about was that I was fucked and I’d be either in prison for life or be executed...instead the day I get my vision back is the day I’m released and life goes on without a beat. Sure normal people are afraid of me and others want to kill me, but its not that different from when the gang was still alive.”

“...What’s really on your mind Roman?”

“When I killed my old man and joined Sol I did it to escape from him and the life he made me live. I chose to take out Sol and bring everything down because Neo was in danger and so was everyone else that wasn’t on his side....I’ve always done something because of someone else but now....”

“With everything done you don’t got a reason for yourself to push forward?”

“Hah...sounds even dumber when you say it for me. Least you got something for yah, didn’t you set up the club?”

“You know it’ll take a few weeks to get it set up and then another week to actually set up my network. Besides, you’re the one that made all the big deals and dangerous heists, why not get rich and live the good life?”

“You mean the boring and safe life?.....Sounds like the biggest prison I can think of.”

“You know what you lack Roman? Ambition.”

“No shit sherlock. If there's nothing I can’t steal and there's nothing I can’t do with the help of money then what am I supposed to be aiming for?”

“.....Why not take a trip or something? Maybe a change in pace will give you an idea.”

\-----------

**Present**

“Heh...I didn’t expect this kind of pace to be honest....”, looking away from the rising sun to look at Neo’s questioning expression. “If we get through this Neo, what do you wanna do?”

_ What I wanna do? _

“What? Were you expecting to follow me the entire time? At some point you gotta do something for yourself Neo, so what is it you wanna do for yourself?”, staring at her as she seemed a bit embarrassed and tried to sign but it was rather confusing since she was messing it up. Though he figured out and smiled as he signed what he thought she was saying.

_ You want to start an Ice Cream Shop right?...What’s with that face? You forget I know sign language too?,  _ seeing the surprise on her face before she simply nodded. “Haha...it’s pretty normal but it’s a nice thing to look forward to doing....plus I’m sure you can eat as much ice cream as you want too.”

Punching his side for taking a crack at her eating habit but quickly got his attention again,  _ What about you? What are you gonna do? _

Not even a second went by with his response, “Doesn’t matter what I do....I think our time is up sweetheart, Queen Bee needs you doesn’t you?”, checking the time on his scroll and recognizing that the finals were starting soon.

Standing up together when she nodded before walking back to the building, but turned around since Roman was still standing on the edge of the building looking straight down. Feeling her gaze made him turn, “Something wrong dear?”

_....No, please stay safe Roman. _

“Don’t worry Neo, my hand is set and the games just started.”, suddenly she wondered what he was doing before she ran as he back stepped off the building when she heard the roar of the engines from a Bullhead that came rising up for her to see.

Roman was inside waving at her from the open doors while she noticed some type of robot was piloting. Before he got into the copilot seat and relaxed, “Where are you?”, speaking to the robot who changed course for him to notice they were going into the heart of the city before he heard Trig’s voice from the bot.

“I’m on top of United Light’s main building, enjoy the view on the way here boss.”, surprised to see that the robot gave him a thumbs up while it remained focused on driving so he listened and went into the back seat to open up the side doors.

Lighting a smoke as he sat down and made sure that his feet were on the bars of the Bullhead while he looked over the city....to him it always looked the same during the day and you could only tell something actually changed when the sun went down with all the dirty secrets pouring out of the ground. “...Drug deals, gang wars, prison breaks, firefights with the cops, a warzone with the military....hell even a few tangos with Hunters but all of it combined pales in comparison to what's coming.....”

“Big question here Vale, can you still stand up when your arms and legs are broken? Or will this be the time you truly go down in flames?”, but he was only answered with the flowing wind as he laughed since he noticed he’d been talking to himself a lot lately.

After a few more minutes passed he looked ahead and noticed a figure on the roof of a high-rise before they got closer to see that it was Trig waving at him. Once the Bullhead was close and low enough he hopped off the Bullhead to land on the solid roof before walking to meet up with Trig and a number of his robots that were with him while the robot drove the ship away.

“You got it all rigged up Trig?”

“Yep! Let me show you.”, waving him to come closer to the edge as he was inputting commands on his large scroll for drones with flat metal tops to come flying in and creating a walkway that started from the edge of the building as they built further ahead.

Trig walked ahead like nothing though Roman was a bit cautious as he stepped on the first drone but it was as solid as concrete and didn’t move an inch from any weight on it. “Won’t we be seen like this Trig?”

“Don’t worry boss, the bottom of these drones are built with optical camouflage so the bottom of them matches the same look as the sky. No one will see us up here unless they were on a ship but most airships in Vale can’t come even close to the heart of this city due to the tall buildings. Only other way to see us would be if they had wings or something you know?”

While he said that Roman felt a strange gaze and turned while Trig kept walking to notice a lone crow at the beginning of where their walkway was. It looked like just any other crow...except for it’s red eyes that gave it an uneasy feeling that it was something more than just a small avian but he shook his head to see it disappear before he moved up to where Trig was.

They ended up walking a fair bit on his drones before Roman leaned a bit the side to look down to see they were now high above the park which was the heart of the city’s residential district and it being the closest district to Beacon Academy itself. “Here Boss, check it.”

Getting his attention for the drones they were standing on to light up and project a holomap of the residential district but with some hand movements the map of the district was raised so Roman could see the sewer system and the pipes under the ground, “Had my bots do like you said and rigged the pipeline running through the park to be remotely detonated. You really think you can pull all the Grimm, even the ones that’ll probably make it to Beacon and and the Vytal Festival?”

“You made the frequency so it’ll turn them one hundred percent hostile and attract right?”

“Right here.”, tossing to Roman for him to catch and see it was a jet-black scroll with his emblem embedded on the ends, “That scroll has the frequency, the reverse program for the virus and just call the only contact on it to detonate the explosives rigged to the pipelines.”

Putting it away, “You let me worry about how I’ll do things, you finish that program to counter the streams from the infected knights?”

“Yeah, my program is already set into the system and it’ll turn on one minute after midnight tonight and it’ll keep interfering until I shut it off. But depending on the number of knights some will probably slip through the cracks.”

“Just do what you can, I don’t expect a perfect guard to handle it.”, looking around as he heard the roar of a crowd fill the air which made him looked towards to the Vytal Festival. Turning on his scroll and going to the web to immediately find that the first final was starting soon with a stream to show it....but he noticed the names. “Blondie vs Spikey huh....Trig!”

“Sup Boss?”

“Can you get me another ride to the Festival? This stream quality is pretty shit.”, flipping his scroll to bring attention to it for him to understand before he nodded and whistled. Hearing the roar of the engine come from behind him to see the Bullhead from earlier had come back to pick him up.

Hopping on to the Bullhead before it took off while he glanced behind to see Trig walking back atop his drones towards the roof before he focused his attention on where he was headed. It didn’t take long since the robot piloting picked up the speed before it slowly came to land on the drop pad...though he was surprised that there wasn’t a single soul around. “...Guess everyone who cares is already seated inside.”

“Keep it running, you’re gonna drop me off somewhere after the match is over.”, telling the robot in the cockpit to see it just give him a thumbs up as confirmation for getting his order. Following the roar of the crowd he entered the hallway and with every step the cheers got louder and louder until he saw for himself what they were cheering for.

It looked as if Mercury had won with a devastating onslaught of barrages from whatever the hell he fired from his legs.....except the cloud dispersed with a burst of flaming aura before Yang unleashed one heavy hit after the other before one last punch that brought Mercury down for the count. Though while people were cheering for Yang being the victor his eyes glanced through the crowd to eventually see Emerald in the stands and just with the look on her face he could tell she was using her semblance....

Looking back to see there was something with Yang but he figured it was because of Emerald’s ability. Though to make sure he took out his scroll to turn back into the stream and raised it in front of him so he could side by side but there was no tampering or anything that he could see....and all it was, was Yang Xiao Long. The victor had brutally assaulted her opponent after the match and broke his leg.

“Hands up!”

“W-wait! He attacked me!”, listening to her words and Roman knew she was speaking the truth, except the truth was literally all in her head as she was the only one who saw something no one else did. The stream on his scroll practically blew up with comments that attacked both Yang and Beacon’s reputation for its hunters and huntresses.

Focusing his attention back on the center as Emerald and Cinder as Mercury teammates came to  **take him home** while the guards had their weapons on Yang as they escorted her out, treating her like a threat.

\-----------

“Why won’t you guys believe me?! He attacked me first I know he did!”

“Sis...”

“Look at the video Yang....you attacked him for no reason.”, raising her scroll for Yang to look at the video she still couldn’t believe was true. Mercury barely standing for her to suddenly throw a punch with the full weight of her strength to break his leg....

“...Come on! Blake, you know I wouldn’t have done something like that for no reason!”, but neither could she nor Weiss or Ruby could read the expression on Blake’s face as she silently just left the room. Weiss looked like she was about to say something but she stopped herself and simply shook her head before she turned and left the room as well..

“Ruby.....”, looking at her dear sister with tearful eyes while she answered her with a weak smile, “J-just stay here Sis...I’m sure they’ll know you didn’t mean it..” And like her other teammates Ruby quietly left the room to close the door behind her to leave Yang all alone.

Feeling the tears drip from her cheeks as her fists were clenched before she just shouted, “DAMN IT!” Crashing to the ground to have her back against the wall where their window was, “I know...I know what I saw...he attacked me and I hit back...”

Sitting in silence as now she felt that the world was against her...her teammates...and even her own flesh and blood didn’t believe her.... “...You know, I didn’t expect to see this side of you. While sad it’s pretty cute to see even the dragon can be vulnerable.”

Surprised to recognize the voice before she moved her hands to look up and of all people see Torchwick above her as he was sat on the window sill. She immediately rolled forward before turning around to enter a battle stance, “Woah there Tiger, lets calm down here alright? Besides, you couldn’t beat me before, what makes you think you can now?”

The weak girl he saw earlier was gone as her hardened expression showed but eventually she lowered her fists, “...So Ruby was right, you really are alive.”

“Oh? Did little Red spill the beans?”

“She told me...after we asked Uncle Qrow and he said he couldn’t remember anything that happened that night....she didn’t tell Weiss or Blake though if that’s what you were wondering.”

Shrugging, “Doesn’t matter if you told them or not, I’m sure they don’t believe I’m dead anyway. But I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

“What are you here for?”

“You tell me, what’s it feel like to be betrayed by everyone? The general public, your peers, your teammates, heck even your own family?”

“Nobody betrayed me! They-”

“Just didn’t see what you saw, right?”, looking surprised before he gestured her to sit on the left bed while he slowly walked to sit on the opposite before lighting a smoke. “Let me guess, that silver haired kid Mercury attacked you and you retaliated right?”

“Because he did!”

“You  **thought** he did, your  **eyes** told you he attacked but if you just payed more attention to your other senses you wouldn’t have been played like a fiddle.”, pulling out his scroll for it to connect for the screen to appear in front of the window.

“But regardless what you saw, no one will believe you since theres no way to prove it,” pointing her to look at the screen to show a recording of the unfortunate incident. Except it repeated over and over as the screens kept splitting with each one having different quality to prove that it was different recordings.

“That’s thirty two screens Yang, showing thirty two  **different** recordings of what happened. But they all show the same thing, Yang Xiao Long crippled a downed opponent after it was clear it was her victory.”

Staring at the screens as they just continued to repeat the recording before she looked away and he could see her hands were shaking even though she put them together to stop her from shaking. “Are you saying I should’ve just taken the hit?”

“There was no hit in the first place, if you actually paid attention you would have noticed that he was closer than you thought and he wasn’t moving. But you trusted your eyes and only saw what was in front of you, something that’ll make you miss whats really happening.”

“Tch...like you wouldn’t have done anything.”

“I wouldn’t, and don’t these nutjobs tell you hunters that sight is the easiest sense to fool?”, and after he said that made her remember one of Professor Port’s lessons where he talked about his  **adventures** and when he hunted he trained his senses like hearing, touch and others.

“So what? You’re one of those people that meditate or train for that kind of thing?”

“Seriously? Sounds like a waste of time if your goal is just making your senses stronger. Catch.”, immediately throwing his scroll to her for her to just barely react and catch it. “What’d you do that for?!”

“You caught that right?”

“Yeah cause I saw it.”

“Exactly,” gesturing to Yang for her to toss it back to him. “Now, raise your right hand to cover your right eye. Tell me what you see.”

She did what he said and, “I see the right half of you, and you look like you’re about to throw it again.”

“Good, now catch.”, throwing it again except with much more force but she still caught it with one hand, “See, just losing part of your vision made you weaker.”

“What are you talking about?”, before he pointed behind her for her to turn around and notice the push dagger that was stuck to the wall as if it was thrown there. “Without your right eye you didn’t see me throw the knife along with my scroll and because you forgot about that side you didn’t feel the small brush of wind fly past the right side of that thick skull of yours.”

Tossing his finished cigarette out the window before he got up and walked over to reach past her and pull the knife from the wall while he was in her face, “Pay attention to what’s missing, to what you don’t see. Or the next time you fight you’re gonna lose more than just trust Yang.”

Taking his scroll from her hands as well as he headed to the window, “...What do you know about trust?”

Stopping in his tracks in front of the window as his chuckled slowly turned to laughter, “Hahahaha.....What do I know about trust? I shot and crippled my father and his mistress before I left them to burn alive in the home I set fire too. I killed the man and his comrades that pulled me from my misery when I was a child...Believe me, I know what trust is.”

Hearing a knock on the door for her to look at the door but turned back to find Roman was already gone and she went to the window to not see a single trace of him at all before, “It’s open.”

Opening the door to reveal it was her Uncle Qrow, “Hey there Firecracker, how you feeling?”

Giving up on trying to find the elusive criminal she turned to face him while she sat on the window, “I’ve been better...”

Looking a bit surprised while he walked in before taking out his flask, “That’s a surprise, I half expected you to scream I didn’t do it when I walked in.”

“...So you think I did it on purpose too...”

“It doesn’t matter what I think or what anyone else thinks Yang, what do you think happened?”

Raising her right hand to look at it as she turned it into a fist, “..I think I got tricked and just played into their hands.”

“...You seem a lot more calm about this Yang, something happen before I came here?”, noticing she turned to look at the wall to see there was some mark on it.

“I..Even though they probably came on a whim they helped me a bit in the end....”, thinking about her words while he noticed the smell of smoke, if only a little bit was lingering in the room and he didn’t think Yang knew any smokers except for one. “Hey Uncle Qrow?”

“Yeah kid?”

“Can we sneak out and spar? I want to work on my control.”

Suddenly a memory popped up for him and he couldn’t remember from where or when or by who, only the words  **‘Make them stronger’** popped up in his mind. “I won’t go easy you know?”

“I know, the harder the fight is the better I’ll be.”


	29. Embers

Leaning with his back against the wall while he could hear the sounds of the stand to his right with people talking about the first match before the topic changed to Pyrrha Nikos and how they’re expecting a really good match with the young champion part of it.

Hearing his scroll ring to see it was Junior, [Giving me an update?], he heard the sounds of struggles before hearing his voice, [Where the hell are you?]

[Police Station, we’re just taking care of the cops before Gemini’s boys take them to the safe zone they made by Elena’s request.]

[Is it actually safe enough to protect everyone that runs there?]

[There’s my boys, Gemini’s, Locke’s and a couple of other gangs with enough bullets to put Vale’s small military to shame. They’ll hold back the Grimm if they try to break in, and if need be they’ll push and try to make an opening for them to escape. Where you at?]

Hearing the announcement for him to walk a bit forward so he could see down at the center of the arena. Pyrrha Nikos and the special Atlas girl, Penny Polendina, who he learned about after Trig digged into the General’s latest dealings and movement. [The Arena, gotta be at the heart of things to have the strongest effect you know? You got your old buddies to start rioting?]

[Yeah. Since we took care of the police and Atlas is too busy with being the tight security for the Vytal Festival to do anything they’re rioting and slowly guiding people through the chaos towards the safe zones.]

[Surprised that even I don’t hear anything out of this place if its that bad, bats only?]

[Just no guns and no fire, and Trig already locked down the news stations so even if they think their broadcasting anything they’re just talking to a camera.]

[Heh, been awhile since we’ve worked together on something hasn’t it?]

[Hopefully it won’t be our last, when this is all over let's grab everyone and go for a drink.]

[Haha....a drink sounds pretty good. Don’t die out there Junior, good luck.], ending the call when he saw the fight had started though he noticed Pyrrha seemed distracted. Checking his scroll again to pull up the Arena’s cameras to scan the crowd until he found what he was looking for, Emerald, who looked like they were oddly focused on the match. “...Guess mind tricks never get old. Question is...where's Spikey and Queen Bee at?”

Flipping through the cameras but he couldn’t find either them and had to assume they were in position somewhere else. The cheers from the crowds made him look back down to the match to see that Penny was pushing Pyrrha back while Scarlet seemed to be losing her edge with every passing second.

It wasn’t until Penny looked like they were about to make their move when, “Hey you there,” glancing behind him to see it was a lone Atlas guard before he turned back to the fight to see Pyrrha slowing stepping back with an expression of fear on her face.

“I’m talking to you sir.”, hearing his footsteps get closer when his attention was completely on the match when Penny launched her swords at Pyrrha for them to violently pushed back by some force....and watched the razor thin wires connecting the swords to the special girl rip her apart. Showing something that only caused the crowd to scream but one voice was clearly louder than the others and he looked to see across the arena from him was Ruby crying on her knees.

Feeling a hand on his left shoulder before he immediately turned as he pulled a push dagger from his sleeve and drove it into the guard’s jugular. They couldn’t scream but with the crowd no one would have heard him anyway. Twisting and pushing it deeper before they went limp and fell to the ground.

Looking at the dagger before he wiped the blood off with the guard’s uniform and put it away. Hooking his cane to his pants then he picked up the dead guard when people were starting to run by but if they noticed them they only saw someone helping another walk. Walking through the crowds of people to hear their cries along with the roars and screams of Grimm that he knew now were circling the Vytal Festival. 

Making it to the docking zone he moved away from where people were running to the emergency dropships and headed to the one Atlas dropship he saw. “Hey! I need help over here!”, keeping his head down as he called the pilot of the dropship for them to open the door.

“Put’em down there, what happened?”

“He got stabbed by some gangster when he tried to confront them.”, putting the dead guard in the back of the dropship before the pilot started looking them over. “Shit, he’s already dead.”

“Yeah, I know.”, and before the pilot could even turn Roman kicked the back of his head to smash them against the back wall of the dropship to hear a crack. Pulling his leg back to see blood smeared on the wall until they hit the floor.

Stepping into the cockpit and started by turning the engine on before pulling up a holo map to see where the Atlas flagship was. Hearing footsteps yet he didn’t react until he heard them sit in the copilot seat to see Neo looking ready, “Whatever happens Neo, just trust me.”

Putting his hands on the controls and waited to see Neo nod with a smile before he took off with the cries of the people behind them...yet now he could see the air was filled with Gryphons. Seeing the Atlas ships fighting them while in the far distance he could see the explosions at the edge of the city where he assumed the Paladins were trying to hold them back.

Changing the radio to the one channel he remembered from all the files he read at the White Fang base, “Lieutenant...Answer me big guy.”

“....Torchwick? What is it?”

“ While I know you and your buddies are busy invading and dropping off the world’s hellspawn everywhere, I need a few hands for something.”

“Where do you want them?”

“Atlas flagship. Biggest garbage in the cess-filled sky, you can’t miss it.”

“Even if we send a Bullhead with men they’ll likely shoot us out of the sky before we even get close.”

“I’ll take care of that matter myself, just send them to the ship Lieutenant.”

“...Understood.”, finishing their conversation to let him flip through the channels to hear numerous Atlas soldiers asking for commands or back up even though no one had an answer for them.

“Just one invasion and everyone loses their mind, guess it pays to be a bit crazy in the end huh Neo?”

_ A bit? _

“Alright we’re fairly crazy, better?”, answering with a nod making him laugh, “Haha, I don’t know what I’d do without you Neo....We’re jumping, ready?”

Seeing as they were coming up on the flagship, Neo left the copilot seat and got in the back while Roman turned on the autopilot before opening the doors and following Neo to get in the back.

Once they saw the the flagship was under them they jumped as both of them rolled to soften the landing. Looking at their surroundings to just see the swarm of gryphons taking back the sky by overpowering the Atlas ships with sheer numbers alone. “We always think we can prepare for everything and come back up when they push us down....How do you think we get back up when they rip off our limbs Neo?”

_ How? _

Lighting a smoke as he headed for the doors that figured led into the ship, “We use the bodies of others to be our limbs and rip their throats out before they can do the same.”

Stopping at the doors to look towards the keypad along with a card reader,  _ Got a card? _

Pulling a card out of his pocket to look at the photo on the ID, remembering the female Atlas guard he tortured and eventually killed by shooting her in the head which made him sigh, “I’m always prepared aren’t I?”

Sliding the card through the reader for the green light to turn on along with the numbers on the keypad lighting up before he entered the code he wrote on the back of the card for the doors to slide open, “Ladies first?”

Stepping aside to let Neo walk inside before he took out a circular plate to plant it on the keypad and twisted for the spikes on the edges to drill into it. Pressing the center button showed a timer starting from ten minutes before he entered the ship after Neo.

Walking down the short hallway before they found themselves in an elevator, he checked the floors before pressing the button for the bridge. The doors closed and they could feel themselves moving down when he reached inside his coat to pull out a tranquilizer gun and a gas mask, “Here, it’s one of Trig’s stuff. The gun has ten darts in the magazine before you need to change it and I’ll tell you when to put on the mask.”

Taking the mask to hook it to her belt before taking the gun and making sure it was cocked while he could now hear voices as he set his cane against the wall when he pulled out a second tranquilizer. The elevator stopped for the doors to open for them first be enveloped in an endless red light with the alarm before he fired the second he the guards in front of them. Getting one in the neck for him to go down immediately while the other was fast enough to raise his left arm to block the shot.

But Roman picked up his cane again to press for the handle to fire ahead past the second guard before he pressed it again to reel it back. Pulling the guard to him since the hook caught their neck which gave him the opening to smash the handle of the gun against their skull and knocking him unconscious. “If they don’t go down in one shot, you know what to do Neo.”

Not bothering to hide the bodies as they pressed on down the red filled hallway when he pulled Neo to the side for them to hug the wall as two Atlas officers rushed by too fast for them to even see the duo. Peeking around the corner to look down the way the officers came from he saw three other officers as it looked like they were putting out fires due to the fire extinguishers. “I’ll hit the two on the left, take the one in the back.”

She nodded as she got in front of him and peeked out the corner aiming her gun with Roman aiming above her since he was taller, but they waited until it looked like they cleared the fire when they finally fired. Quick and silent did the three officers go down in an instant with their precise aiming. Checking their corners first before they stepped out and headed down the way the officers who ran by earlier went when...“Hey!”, they glanced to see an Atlas trooper before they ran ahead.

The trooper fired at them as they gave chase but their were lucky that he was a bad enough shot with none of his shots connecting before Roman broke to a hard right while pulling Neo with him. However, instead of running he gestured her to take a few steps back as he raised his cane in wait while he listened to the trooper’s fast approaching steps. Seeing the tip of their rifle come into view before he took a swing to hit the trooper’s face as they fell back on their ass, and as soon as they recovered Roman had already aimed and fired a dart in the center of their neck. “Who fired?! What’s happening out there?! Did the Grimm breach the ship?!”

Hearing a voice to see the radio that was attached to their belt and he knelt down to pick it off him while looking towards the end of the corridor to see the heavy metal doors at the end, “Negative sir, the fire spread to the personal quarters and likely set off an officer’s emergency ammunition.”

“Take care of those fires then and do a quick sweep after, we don’t need more problems than we already have now.”

“Roger that Commander.”, taking the radio off the trooper’s body before he hooked it to his own belt and covered it with his coat as they headed towards the heavy metal doors. “Gas mask Neo.”, pointing out to her as he pulled out a second gas mask and put it on when she did the same.

Taking out a silver canister before he slid the ID card through the reader which opened the doors when he pulled the pin and threw the canister inside as they hugged the sides of the doors. A loud bang ensued that was accompanied by the screams of shock when they noticed the grey gas spilling out from the opening.

With guns raised did they enter the room that was now filled with tear gas as every officer in the bridge was on the ground in pain. Unable to retaliate Roman and Neo quickly swept the room to shoot a dart in every officer whose voice was filled with agony and their hands filled with their tears before it was replaced with silence once the darts took in effect.

After making sure every officer was unconscious he headed for what looked like the communications panel since it looked similar to Trig’s set up at his underground base. Though he couldn’t clearly see the controls with all the gas and the gas mask on, so he picked the pistol off the officer who was down next to the panel when he aimed it at the front windows where he could see the Grimm filled sky. “Hold on to something.”

Checking to see her holding on to one of the chairs before he fired to put a small crack. He fired every shot left in the magazine for the crack to expand until it shattered for air to rush through the open window, along with all the tear gas to finally clear the bridge and allow him to take off the gas mask. 

“Whew...That’s better.”, tossing the mask aside as he pressed a button on the panel for the screen in front to light up with numerous channels where Atlas soldiers were requesting for backup or others requesting for a medic and the rest just simply begging for help before being slaughtered by large hordes of Grimm. “Huh...it’s like watching a slaughterhouse movie...except there's no popcorn.”

Receiving a light punch to his right arm to see Neo with a look on her face, “Come on, everything is already depressing as it is....At least let me humor myself a bit.”

_ Look _ , pointing for him to look up at the screen for the ship’s detection system to pick out the incoming ship that was an unknown before he brought up visuals to see it was the White Fang. He switched to their channel, “This is Torchwick, I’ve got the ship so hurry your asses up and land on the deck. The doors are already open.”

“Copy that, landing in three.”, using the cameras to keep watch until the White Fang’s Bullhead landed on the flagship’s deck before he reengaged the defense system to clear out the Gryphons that were closest to the the ship.

He connected his own scroll to the panel before it pulled video feeds of the arena, Beacon Academy and the city of Vale. “....You know what’s funny Neo?”

Glancing to his right to see her tilted head as she looked at him questioningly, “Parents tell their kids that the Grimm are to be feared, that they’re the stuff of nightmares and because of that they grow up thinking that those things are the end to life. But reality is...the only things to fear is ourselves. If the Grimm feed off of our negative emotions, then who’s to say that we didn’t create the Grimm ourselves to kill those we hate...or that we made them stronger because we made them our boogeyman the second they bit our hand....In the end everyone wants order, but the only thing we’re good at is chaos....Tell me Neo, do you think it’s even worth it to stop this when it’s just a prelude to the inevitable hell that’ll come after?”, looking ahead of him to see the Grim Reaper staring back with cold red eyes.

_ Do you think it’s worth it? _

“I don’t really know....I’ve been drinking these past couple of days and it’s got me thinking that all of this is just pointless....Even if Cinder creates tension there was already a sense of disaster in the air, if anything we’re already due for some hellfire and brimstone.”

_..Are you thinking about giving up Roman? _

“Would you think any less of me if I said yes?”, feeling a warm touch as Neo stood by to hug him and Roman noticed that Grim Reaper had faded away.  _ I wouldn’t...if you want to give up and run away then I’ll follow you and push everything past us till we can forget about it. _

Thinking about everything that’s happened before he envisioned what would happen after today...and none of it was good for anybody but....turning to return Neo’s hug when she looked up at him, “You really are the sweetest thing in the world Neo.... but I know giving up wouldn’t put a smile on your face and that’s all I want. To see you smile.”

Leaning down as he cupped her face to kiss her soft lips which seemed to be lasting for her....“Umm...”, breaking away from each other after turning to see the White Fang at the open doors, albeit a bit uncomfortable from walking in on them.

“Took you guys long enough.”

“The...Lieutenant said you needed help sir?”

“You got explosives on your ship right? Two of you go rig the engine and give me the detonator when you’re done. The rest of you pick up any Atlas soldier still breathing and put them in the escape pods.”

“You’re...sparing them?”

Stepping closer to get in their face, “I am, is that a problem?”

“They’re Atlas...they’re the bastards keeping us down!”

“And how do you expect them to fear or acknowledge you as a threat if you kill everyone? You need survivors to tell the tale, that the White Fang can destroy everything you love but they can do it  **wherever** and  **whenever** they want. You don’t instill fear by spilling blood with executions or mass murder. You make them afraid by making them know that no matter what wall they build, no matter how many bullets they have, and no matter how many soldiers they use...you’ll get them and they’ll watch as you rip everything they love from them because they’ll never see it coming. You get me?”

Looking past the one he was intimidating to see the others with him were looking at each other and could see on their expressions that they agreed, “Understood, you two go get the bombs and deal with the engines, the rest of you are with me. We’ll take the soldiers and make sure the pods land outside the danger zone.”

Following his orders two of the White Fang members turned around to run back to their ship while the rest either put their weapons aside or holstered them before they began to carry the unconscious Atlas officers out of the bridge. So Roman turned back to the controls, “Neo.”

Tapping the handle of her parasol where she noticed was the single latch keeping the hidden blade inside holstered, “Make sure they do it right, kay?”

Nodding and moving past the working White Fang to follow the two who left earlier while leaving him somewhat alone at the controls just looking at the video feeds. He pulled out the scroll that showed only a chess piece on it’s red screen as he sighed when he plugged it in....for every screen in the bridge to flash bright red with the black chess piece in the middle. Turning his attention to the working video feeds that showed the streets of Vale as the Atlas knights that were once attacking the Grimm had turned with the screen as their face to be flashing red once they turned on their human allies. “Man-made creations now want to kill their masters....sounds like an old novel. Too bad there isn’t a mob big enough to take on all these knights.”, sitting back in what was the commander’s chair as he stared at the screens to just watch the corrupted Atlas knights reek havoc on the city, it’s people and even took on Beacon students who were caught off guard.

While the White Fang members were finishing up taking the bodies out of the bridge a few of them noticed Roman who was flipping through the screens with the controls on the chair  and even though every screen showed either destruction, mayhem or murder.... he looked like he was bored watching it all.

Though as he was flipping through the channels he stopped to bring up three of them. The first was a camera that was aimed at one side of the street but with remote control he aimed it higher to see that it was Cinder, Mercury and Emerald watching the horror from atop the rooftops. 

The second one was one that appeared to be set in one of the courtyards of Beacon Academy as he could see Adam Taurus cutting down the Grimm getting in his way and the Atlas soldiers who were foolish enough to cross his blade before he entered a building...to which he didn’t think much of the edgy red-headed samurai killing a bunch of soldiers...but it was that Blake had popped into view and looked like she saw him as she dashed with her weapon raised into the building.

The last one was a feed of Yang who was looking around while trying to use her scroll but it looked like no one was picking up since she was frustrated with it.

He checked around him to make sure the White Fang were gone since they had taken all of the officers to the pods and left him alone. Pulling out the black scroll to dial Yang’s number for it to immediately connect without her having to even accept it, [Hey Blondie.]

[Who is this?]

[Come on, I know you recognize this sweet voice. But lets not waste more of my breath than I need to, turn around and run straight for fifty meters than make a left.]

[Why should I listen to you?]

[Unless you wanna add Kitty to the body count I suggest you should, but hey it’s not my problem. Also a piece of advice, he’s better than you and if you go in stupid you’re gonna die and so will Kitty, have fun.]

Hanging up and looking at the screen to Yang look around before she found and looked at the camera, her face was conflicted but it looked like she cursed as she turned and ran with all her might in the direction he told her. Checking the time he got out of the chair and left the bridge to head towards where the escape pods was.

It was easy since he just followed the few White Fang members who were carrying more Atlas Officers who Roman figured loss consciousness because of the smoke from the fires earlier since he didn’t remember shooting that many with the tranq darts.

Watching from the end of the rather small hallway as he looked at Neo who was coming from the very back but known of the White Fang seemed to notice the little bit of blood on her hands and her parasol.

“Everything good sweetheart?”, And Neo nodded as she got close enough to slip the detonator into his hands.

Noticing that they were almost done filling the pods with the soldiers made him glance to the escape pod that he leaning against, “ You’ve always stuck by me no matter what stupid shit I get into, I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

_ We’ll always have each other's back, right? _ , Responding with a radiant smile that made himself smile out of happiness...and pain.

“That smile always makes my heart skip a beat. You really are my light Neo.....” surprise by his sudden hug as she was about to wrap her arms around him, “.....But that's why you can’t stay.”

Her eyes widen as she felt a sharp pain in her left leg before he stepped back to his the tranquilizer gun in his right hand.  _ R-Roman.... _

Losing strength in her legs she fell forward into his arms “Sorry Neo, You would have fought if I didn’t do it this way.”, carrying her into the escape pod to seat her in before strapping her down. She tried to reach for him but her arms went limp until her eyes finally closed for him to know that she was unconscious now.

Closing the pod door behind him as he imputed landing coordinates on the screen next to it before he took a last look through the small window to see the sleeping Neo before he punched the eject button for the pod to launch out.

“Sigh.....”

“Mr. Torchwick, all officers are in the pods. Should we evacuate once their done with the engine?”

“Evacuate?....Hahahaha....”, his sudden seemed to startled the White Fang member closest to him and caught the attention of the others when...“The only way you’re getting off this ship is in a bodybag.”, and they couldn’t react fast enough when Roman gripped the push dagger in his sleeve to pierce the member’s jugular. 

Pulling the dagger to the right for the blood to spill out which alerted the others but Roman had already dropped the dagger hold them up by their chin with his cane to be a shield as he ripped the assault rifle out of their hands to fire through his chest when they returned fire.

The firefight lasted barely a minute as he heard only clicks when he kept pulling the trigger until he realised it was over and that his gun was empty. Dropping the gun and pulling his cane back to drop the body to see the hallway splattered with blood and the dead bodies of the White Fang he just gunned down.

Though when he felt a trickle of blood drip from his lips did he start to feel pain. Looking down to see that right side of his stomach was bloody. Pressing his hand to the gunshot wound he sustained, “Figures.....”

Using his cane to support himself as he walked down the narrow corridor towards the center console while holding his wound even though blood was still spilling out. Once he made it to the console which was the main controls to all the escape pods, he punched the eject button to quickly hear every pod on the flagship launch one after the other until it was silence.

Staring at the screen to see that it tracked each pod to show where it was going and predicted where it would land, which all of them were landing outside of the city at least. 

He pressed his bloody hand against the wall as he started to walk away in the direction of the bridge when a gunshot to his left shoulder stopped him and almost made him let go of his cane.

Glancing over his shoulder to see one female White Fang was still alive as she aimed a pistol at him, “Fucking traitor.”

Annoyed he turn around to aim his cane to fire a white flare at the woman and once it hit her it destroyed her gun as her arm flew back with the audible sound of the bone breaking before she screamed.

Not bothering to walk around and just stepped over the bodies until he was standing above her, “Traitor? That's pretty funny coming from idiots like you. You’re all traitors and outcasts to your own kind and guess what? Win or lose you’ll still be the same trash as when you started.”

Pressing his cane against her forehead, “Now join the rest of the garbage,” pulling the trigger to see a red flare light up the corridor before it dissipated to see the woman’s head had exploded with her blood and brain matter splattering the floor.

Looking around and listening for any noises but he was sure that everyone in the corridor was dead before he resumed to going towards the bridge but decided to stop by the infirmary.

Grabbing the medkit before he went into the bathroom to strip off his bloody coat, then his black vest and white button shirt to see his injuries. Finding it fortunate that both shots were clean ones since it appeared that they pierced through instead of being stuck in him....but it made him realise he’s lost a lot more blood than he originally thought. Cleaning himself up and disinfecting with what he had as best as he could before he used the bandage wrap to finish off.

About to close the medkit when he noticed three syringes labeled with morphine on them and he thought about it but the sharp pain to his gut and shoulder compelled him to use one of them which helped suppress the pain but he stumbled a bit as he felt the bathroom after stuffing the other two syringes in his pockets.

He struggled to button up his shirt and then put on his vest but chose to leave the coat since it was literally splattered with the blood from when he was shooting through the man’s chest at point blank range. Using his cane to support him even though he still ended up dragging himself since he was wobbling when he tried to walk normally. Finally making it back to the bridge he continued to the console where the scroll Cinder gave him still was before ripping it out to smash it to pieces.

Taking out the black scroll which was a little bloody but he connected it for an electronic female voice to speak, [Initiating hostile takeover.], the red screens instantly changed to blue as he watched on the screen displaying the multiple video feeds showed most of the Atlas Knights who flashed red had changed to blue. The ones that apparently the signal was to weak for or some other reason remained red and continued to attack their allies before the blue ones had targeted and destroyed them.

Hearing typing sounds made him turn to the right screen to see the directives that he figured Trig had made up for when they took over the soldiers. The first was to ensure the lives of human and faunus, the second was to eliminate all Grimm with extreme prejudice, and the last was to eliminate those who conflict with the first directive.  In this case he guessed it meant that any Knight harming a human or faunus would be attacked by others or if they run into any of the White Fang they would be shot on sight as well. “Not bad Trig...not bad at all...”

On the left he could see that it had started to send out the frequency as he noticed the Grimms in the video feeds had stopped attacking others and instead were following whatever was making the sound, which was the flagship itself.

Still feeling out of it due to the morphine but since he started the virus there wasn’t much else for him to do and felt he needed some fresh air....

\----------

[Also a piece of advice, he’s better than you and if you go in stupid you’re gonna die and so will Kitty. Have fun.], hearing him hang up until she looked around for the camera and even though she knew she couldn’t trust him....Yang still listened and ran as fast as she could. As she ran she could see the Atlas soldiers, Hunters and Huntresses fighting off the Grimm, the White Fang and even the out of control Atlas robots....but she had to ignore it and kept running.

Something in his voice told her that he wasn’t lying and that Blake was truly in danger. It only reaffirmed her fears when she thought she heard Blake’s cry in pain as she stopped dead in her tracks to look into the burning building to see a red haired man with his sword impaling Blake while she was on the ground.

Feeling anger and rage well up inside her, “GET AWAY FROM HER!”, her explosive aura showed as she used Ember Celica to fire her forward as she readied her fist to punch him with everything she had.

But his words suddenly rang through her mind,  _ A frontal assault like that Blondie, is asking to lose an arm......Pay attention to what’s missing.......if you go in stupid you’re gonna die and so will Kitty _ , his words made her actually look while in mid flight to see the man had sheathed his sword as she saw a red glint in his visor.

Feeling her life was in danger she still swung....her fist downwards to fire Ember Celica to launch her up as the man striked and to her it looked like he cut the very air that was in front of him. Once she landed she turned to fire a shot at the man for them to simply raise their katana before sheathing it again when she saw it looked like he absorbed the shot. 

Charging head on she threw a right straight for them to block with their blade and she tried to trade with him but every time he swung it felt like his blade was getting closer to her and sharper with each trade they made. She feinted and thought he took the bait before she pulled back her right arm to punch his face when she fired at the same time for the explosion to enveloped the both of them. “Yang!”

Once the smoke cleared she saw that the man’s reflexes were faster than hers as he flipped his katana to hold it with a reverse grip as he held it downwards to stop her fist and she saw the blade was glowing red when he kicked her back to immediately sheath his blade then dash to her.

Feeling there was no way she could dodge she raised her arms to block as she tried to focus all her aura to arms for a strong enough defense...but it still failed as the man slashed to cut through Ember Celica and cut her arms. Yet, Blake was fast enough to use Gambol Shroud to pull Yang with the black ribbon before the man had finished his strike but was still able to destroy Yang’s gauntlets and injure her.

As he approached Yang who couldn't fight anymore Blake got in front using her right hand to hold Gambol Shroud while using her other hand to cover her wound. “You would give your life for hers?”

“I’ll stop you Adam, I’ll stop you and end this madness. Even if it's the last thing I do.”

Gripping his katana tightly as her words seemed to only anger him, “The last thing you’ll do, is watch as I cut down everyone and everything you love Blake and once you suffer the despair of losing it all....I’ll be there to cut you down.”, pulling his katana to swing with no effort as the second their blades touched did she dissipated like a shadow.

Hearing their footsteps he turned to see the duo supporting each other as they escaped out the burning building. “You really have just become a coward...haven’t you Blake?” Raising his weapon in front to see the little bit of blood trickle down the edge when he heard the rushing stomps to quickly swing upwards to slice the Beowolf about to attack him in half before he sheathed his katana as his scroll rang.

“Lieutenant.”

“Adam, our forces are starting dwindle with the incoming Grimm from the surrounding area and the Atlas machines seemed to have regain control.”

“I see...and that man?”

“We haven’t been able to contact Torchwick in sometime, nor can I contact the small squad I sent to help him at his request.”

“Then they’re already dead. Pull the rest out, we’ve already given them our message and more....it’s time to leave and move on to the next battlefield.”

\------------

“Wooooah!”, keeping her head down as she held on tight to the rocket locker that made her fly through the sky and tried to not get any attention from the flying Gryphons that had dominated the sky in mere minutes.

Glancing ahead as she saw the Atlas flagship and jumped off the locker right when she saw a lone figure standing at the very tip of deck before she landed on her feet. A few of the Gryphons noticed and tried to attack her but she dodge them with ease before they were shot down by the flagships own defense cannons.

She watched as the Gryphons surrounding the ship suddenly exploded with fire as the cannons shot at them, causing it to look like the sky was raining embers with each kill of the Gryphon swarm. But seeing that the Grimm were being held back she turned her eyes back to the lone figure who she couldn’t tell at a glance until she got close enough to make out his cane to realise who it was. “Little Red, Little Red, this is quite fitting don’t you think?”

Hearing his voice that somehow sounded a bit weak but she understood why it was when she was close enough to see. His left shoulder was wrapped with a bloody bandage and she could see the bloody ends of his white shirt and the hole in his black vest. “...What’s fitting?”

“My life didn’t start till I set my home on fire and left a trail with the blood of my old man and the whore with him...yet I’m back where I started. This city set ablaze and everyone who I cut down...along with all the White Fang whose blood is splattered on the walls of this ship.... but enough about me. It’s time we get to what’s important right?”

Turning for her to see he used his cane in his right hand to keep him up standing still while in his left hand he held an Atlas-made revolver while holding his right side. “Tell me Red, you think you got what it takes to be the hero?”

“If being a hero means everyone has to suffer like this then I don’t want to be one Roman.”

“....You don’t got a choice, everyone else is either dead or too scared to do anything. From my standpoint you’re the only one still standing Red so the torch belongs to you. You bravely run into dangerous situations, put your friends and family above yourself, and you rally others with your adorable confidence. All of it points to you being the one they need...except you’re just missing one thing little Red.”

“What’s that?”

“Like any real war hero, you gotta finish off your enemies.”, raising the revolver to point it up to make her focus her attention on it before he tossed it over to land at her feet. “Since you fire that sniper rifle built into that oversized garden tool I’m sure your aim can’t be that bad. But I made sure it’s loaded with all six bullets dear. Give me your best shot.”, opening up his arms as if inviting death with a welcoming embrace.

She stared at the gun lying in front of her feet, “Why are you doing this?”

“Why not? And why do you care?”

“...Cause you’re suppose to be on our side...”

“The only thing waiting for me on  **your** side is either a public execution or being locked in a cell till the day I can pull out my own fucking teeth without even trying. I’m in control of  **my fate** , and I’d rather be dead than locked up like an animal. So pick up that fucking gun or use that oversized garden tool and cut me down.”

Showing an emotion she had never shown before to him as she slammed the bottom of her scythe to crush the revolver, “Why me?! Why do you want me to kill you so badly?!”

Walking a few steps closer to her as the cannons were making it a bit difficult to hear unless he was close enough, “Because you’re the hero in this story Ruby and if you can’t kill me....then you don’t stand a chance of stopping her.”

“Can’t we...work together to stop her?”

“I know Red, that you know it’s impossible for us to work together. But if I can make you shed blood, then it’ll be easier for you to do it again when the time comes.”, raising his cane to aim at her and she instinctively readied herself with her scythe as her troubled and nervousness disappeared.

“That’s a better expression Red, it’s probably the most beautiful face you’ve shown me yet. I won’t lie and say it hasn’t been fun, but this is where you grow up and face the real world.”, firing a red flare that whizzed past her as she dodged it to rush towards him while leaving a petal trail.

He kept firing as she got closer and continued to fill the space with red petals until she was close enough to swing upwards and ripping through the metal of the deck in hopes to knock up his cane which was a success. But as soon as he felt that he lost hold of his cane he reached inside his pocket to pull out a black cylinder and hit the end of it into Ruby’s stomach before it extended to reveal it was a metal baton as he went for an overhead hit that pushed her back when she blocked it.

Pulling an Atlas pistol from behind him to fire on Ruby as he ran towards her as he kept his eyes on his flying cane that was about to land. She spun her scythe to deflect the bullets but noticed what he was aiming for and deflected the last bullet before running towards him.

He reacted by throwing the pistol at her since it empty but she simply knocked it away when he thrusted his metal baton to stick through the barrel of his cane for it to connect for a split second as he continued to thrust the handle into Ruby’s chest before he pulled it back.

Pressing the button on the baton for it to collapse back before he grabbed and flipped his cane to fire again at Ruby. The explosion sent her flying away but she stabbed the blade of her scythe into the deck to spin launch her back into the fight.

She used her speed the second her feet touched the deck to close the distance before he could fire another shot to strike at him again.....Except he noticed she was completely focused on his cane and still avoiding her blade touching his body. Gripping his cane he parried her downward swing to grab her by her collar and headbutt her away. “If you ain’t gonna take this seriously you wanna know what’s gonna happen? This city is gonna burn in fucking flames that's what.”

A bit wobbly from the headbutt so she used her scythe to keep her steady, “You don’t know that!”

“Wanna know what the biggest difference is between us? You don’t think, I do! I run every possible situation I can think of and I already know the results of what’s gonna happen.”

“Just because you think you can predict what can happen doesn’t mean it’ll actually happen Roman!”

“Wrong! It’s exactly because of how easy it is to predict the outcome that I know when, why and how it happens. You think I make this shit up as I go? I’ve already got everything planned out to the smallest god-forsaken detail.”, keeping his eyes out to the skies to look as the Gryphons around the ship were still being held back by the cannons as he kept his aim on Ruby.

“You....even planned to be shot?”, noticing her eyes wander to his bandaged left shoulder and his bloody gut which made him chuckle seeing the look on her face. “You know every possible path, if something happens in one plan that didn’t happen in the other then you switch and keep going because the outcome is the same. Didn’t your teachers tell you to be adaptable?”

Firing three red flares at Ruby which she cut in half two of them without noticing the third one went right past her, “It doesn’t matter how many times you shoot me, so quit trying!”

“Remember where you are kid.”, listening to his words before she heard the cries of a Gryphon as she turned to see the last flare shot off the wing of one that now on course to crash into her. She vaulted over and pressed the barrel against the body to fire her sniper rifle to shoot it like a bullet towards Roman.

Tossing up his cane to grab the end with both hands as he readied himself, before the Gryphon was about to collide he swung like a bat to send it back to Ruby. When she landed on her feet he thought he saw a silver glint in her eyes when she charged to slice the Gryphon in half before she began her assault that seemed faster than earlier.

Her arching swings made him more conscious of the blade as she continously fired her rifle to boost her strikes which gave them more force than he could take. Spinning her scythe that grinded against his cane made him drop it but he was fast enough to raise his foot and kick it back up into his hands when she was open.

Gripping the handle of his cane he thrusted the end in the center of Ruby’s chest to make her gasp for breathe before he raised his cane to hit her chin up. While stunned for a brief second he kicked her in the stomach to send her back when he fired off the handle to hook her back towards him to finish off with right straight to her cheek. She tumbled to a stop while Roman was flexing his fingers since he felt like he hit a brick wall when he punched her. “If you don’t step up Red then things will only get worse. You’ve already lost one friend because of this, how many more can you handle losing?”

Seeing her struggle a bit to push herself up, “I won’t lose anyone else....I’ll protect them!”

“Protect them? You can barely protect yourself. Wanna know something? To protect someone means someone else has to get hurt, meaning if you don’t hurt me and everyone like me than everyone else you love is gonna get hurt instead.”

“It doesn’t have to work like that.”

“Too bad that’s how it does work, you’re just too naive to accept that fact.”

Finally standing up as she held her scythe while he took a few steps towards her, “You’ve lost your academy, you’ve lost the city, you’ve lost your home.”

“Shut up...”

“You’ve lost your teachers, your friends.”

“I said shut up!”

“You’ve lost your team, your partner and even your sister.”, seeing her hands trembling as he continued to step forward until he stopped when he was only a few feet from her. “You’ve lost it all, just like how you lost your mother.”

Seeing the silver glint again as he wasn’t fast enough to even blink when she disappeared from his sight but felt a painful feeling before he simply chuckled once he realised what happened. “Haha....all it takes is a little push.”

Ruby was behind him and she was panting as she questioned his words before she looked at the blade of her scythe to see it was dripping blood. She turned to see Roman drop to one knee as she noticed between his legs was a puddle of blood. Dropping his cane into the puddle of blood as he was on his hands spitting out blood from his mouth. “Haha...ha...what’s it feel like Red? First time branding that scythe with real blood, satisfying isn’t it? Haha!”

Afraid of his laughter that didn’t match his position at all as she slowly approached him, “R-roman?”

“Too bad...you’re concern is still dragging you down.”, and he pulled the detonator from his pocket to press the trigger for the deck to shake as the sounds of multiple explosions shattered the air.

It took her a second before Ruby saw that it was the back of the ship that had exploded before the smoke from the fires was filling the space around her. It caused her to lose her footing as she couldn’t see when she suddenly felt a hand around her neck. Once the smoke cleared she met eyes with Roman as she could see down his chest that there was a gash across his chest as his blood stained his clothes, “You’ve still too weak to hold a candle to her...”, looking past her as he could see the ship was going down into the city as he could see the park ahead of them. “...but we’re out of time.”

“You want to protect everyone? Then make sure theres no one left to hurt them Red.”, glancing to his side as they were about to pass a high-rise, “See yah kid.”

Using the strength he still had left to toss her far enough off the deck to see her crash land onto the roof of the tall building. Seeing that she was out of the way made him relieved and though he thought she heard her say something, it was dulled out with everything happening around him.

The gash was still bleeding as the pain was burning when he pulled out another syringe to inject himself to somewhat lessen the pain. Dragging his feet and leaving a blood trail as he was making his way to the front of the deck to stare at the burning city before looking back to see the ship was bursting in flames.

Turning back to look ahead as the ground was rapidly getting closer from his point of view and he simply closed his eyes.“Even with the world on fire....it’s always so cold.”


	30. Resolution

“Ro...”

“Roman...”

“Wake up!”, suddenly being awoken as he heard a thud before he opened his eyes. Taking the few seconds to look around and realise where he was. It was a large corporate office room situated on the top floor which he got from the view from the windows when he glanced behind his big comfy chair.

“You okay boss? You’ve been falling asleep a couple of times for the past few hours.”, wiping what he figured was drool off him as he looked ahead to see numerous people sat a large circle table that were looking at him.

“Yeah....I haven’t got much sleep these days...Get on with it Trig.”, leaning back into his chair as Junior took a seat at the large table next to the woman Roman recognized was Elena and Trig pressed a clicker for a holo-map of Vale to light up at the center of the table. “As I’ve already mentioned I think it’s best that the safezone be around here, in the industrial district. There's lots of sturdy buildings and lots of machinery that can be used to barricade the public in.”

Glancing to a middle aged man who Roman recognized was Murdock, the son of Gemini, who started the cleaning service that nearly every criminal in this city uses. They raised two fingers to get the attention first, “It’s also the district with the tightest alleys and there's always unfinished construction, how do you know people won’t get stuck or trapped by the roads alone? Even if it's the easiest to defend it’s the hardest to get people to actually go to, wouldn’t the eastern side of the Residential District be best?”

With her arms crossed the woman they knew as Elena spoke, “Why there? You think that academy will help us? They’re all just kids playing heroes, they won’t be any use.”

“You got a better idea you old bag? Bullets can barely stop the Grimm as it is, a whole invasion? We’d need Atlas fucking stockpile of ammunition to have a chance then.”

“Old bag? You surely didn’t think of me like that a few years ago Murdy.”

“Both of you shut up.”, barely any effort in his voice but once he interjected the two stopped and looked towards Roman.

“Trig, set up the safe zone at the southern edge of the Agricultural District.”

“You sure about that boss? Won’t we be closer to the Grimm?”

“The Grimm aren’t as heavily populated in the South and the main body of the invasion will come from the North, from Forever Fall. The Atlas Paladins will simply stall for time while you set up a defense once they break through the city.”

Murdock- “You’re willing to give up the city?”

Roman- “Wanna be an idiot and die like the rest? Be my guest.”

Murdock was about to say something when Elena and Junior caught his attention to gesture for him to hold back and Roman took that to continue, “If we can’t break their numbers while also protecting the public then we escape to the South and use the buildings to block them from chasing.”

Elena- “Where would we go then?”, Roman gestured to Trig to hand him his tablet which he set on his desk for it to project the holo-map as he manipulated it. “Old man Tark is still alive and so is his smuggling business. He’s got enough freighters to take the people to one of the other kingdoms. You guys just need to get everyone and yourselves to his docks that's a couple of miles away from the city.”

With a concern look on her face, “What about you?”

“I’m staying in the city, I’ve got some personal business that needs to be taken care of. All you guys need to do is get the people to the safe zone and if it gets too hot then you bail, got it?”

Both Murdock and Elena nodded as they got up and left the room while talking to the people they brought with them about what they’d do. Trig turned off the map at the large table and walked with Junior to stand in front of Roman’s desk.

Junior- “So what are you going to do Roman?”

Changing the holo-map from the tablet to project the Vytal Festival and the Atlas ships stood by it. “By that woman’s orders I need to be on that Atlas flagship to infect their systems to send the knights on a killing spree. Once I know its time I’ll plug in Trig’s virus to reverse it, and so that the ship will send out a frequency that only the Grimm will hear. It if works then the flagship will be a juicy steak they can’t resist.”

“And once they follow?”

“I plan to crash the ship in this park where the Grimm will gather and set off the charges that’ll be primed underground to deal with them. If it works then the Grimm in the city will be dealt with.”

“You’re gonna be off that ship before you crash it right?”

Giving him a look as if he said something stupid, “Obviously, you think I want to die with a bunch of filthy monsters?”

“Alright, I need to make a few calls to get people some help.”, taking out his scroll as he stepped out of the room leaving Roman and Trig. “....You didn’t tell him boss?”

Getting out of the chair to turn and stand before the large windows to overlook the city, “Tell him what?”

“That the charges set beneath the park have limited range because of the concrete so the only way they’ll all go off at the same time is if the detonator is at the very center of the circle.”

“Junior doesn’t need to know the small details Trig, you should know that by now.”

“I know Boss...but at least let me send one of my bots or drones instead.”

“Once that ship crashes the frequency will have died so there's little time left.....Besides, how sure are you that there won’t be a malfunction or that your bots won’t get destroyed by something else before it even pulls the trigger?”

“I can’t be absolutely sure but it has to be bett-”

“What did I always say back then?

“.....If you want something done right, you do it yourself.”

“That’s right, if I fail and the charges don’t go off then you make sure that the people get out of this city. No matter what happens, you stick to the plan got it?”

The look on his face from the reflection told Roman he didn’t want to agree but...“Got it Boss...I’ll go finish things up.”, and Trig took his things before he walked out of the room to leave Roman in silence as he gazed upon the city.

He looked and he could only imagine what’ll happen once it happens when he blinked to see from the reflection in the window that the Grim Reaper stood by him, “You know you can tell me what happens, I don’t really mind spoilers.”

Though the Reaper simply stared out the window with him as he replied with the everlasting silence. Roman thought of it all....Neo, Cinder, the invasion, the city,  the safe zone, Beacon, and....the plan...

Hearing his scroll ping he checked to see it was from Neo, [Cinder told me she didn’t need me to do anything today. Are you busy?]

“You know...I’m starting to wonder how I got here. I thought after the gang I’d put all this underworld shit behind me, but in the end you never leave the game...no matter how much blood you give. Got any advice for me buddy?”

......

“Haha...why do I even bother.”, and surprisingly he was answered with a chilling voice even though the words themselves didn’t seem that cold in the end.

“Death comes to all, it’s just a matter of time. What you plan to do is meaningless, as many will still perish....but go about as you would, you feeble creatures never know when to stop in the first place.”

Shocked at first but looking at the reflection made him see that the Reaper was still looking but it made him chuckle once the words got across his mind as he took out a pack and lighter. “Haha...that your way of comforting me my shady friend? I almost feel better after that...but I get the gist of what you’re saying.”

Lighting his smoke as the beautiful and clear view of the city suddenly changed with a burning sky and the city was overrun with Grimm as they reeked havoc upon the people of Vale, “....No matter what happens...stick to the plan...”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

_.....Stick to the plan.... _ , feeling his body numb but he slowly blinked his eyes open to see an ember filled sky. “I’m...still alive?”, but his attention was taken by the intense heat he was feeling when he turned his eyes to his left to see part of the Atlas flagship’s metal frame was on fire and on top of his left arm.

He tried pushing it off with his right but the second he touched it he pulled back from the searing flames when the burning pain hit him again. “Fuck!”, looking around to find something but anything he saw was out of reach as the burning pain was escalating.

Trying again to push with his right hand and barely lifted an inch before he had to pull his hand back from the immense heat the metal was containing. Then he remembered as he reached inside his pocket to pull out the extendable baton. Extending the baton before he brought it up to his neck and saw the other end was underneath the metal frame just before it touched his shoulder.

Knowing he had to be fast he gritted his teeth as he pushed the baton between the metal frame and his arm which he felt was like peeling his skin off his arm at the same time but he held back any screams as he continued. Once the baton was at the center of his arm he pushed the baton up to work like a jack and once he felt the weight of the metal frame was gone he quickly let go of the baton as he rolled away when the frame slammed to the ground.

He didn’t dare try to hold his arm nor did he even want to look since all he could smell over everything around was the scent of burnt flesh. The pain was filling his thoughts to prevent him from thinking straight before he looked around to see ahead of him was the park fountain that was partially destroyed but it was still pumping out water. Rolling over made him feet pain the second his left arm touched the ground but he held it all back as he started to pull on the ground to drag himself pass the burning grass and what he figured were flaming pieces of debris from the crash.

Once he reached to the fountain he pulled himself up and while strained he managed to raise his...crispy left arm into the water that immediately stung at first. Clenching his fist as he just held through the stinging sensation before it very slowly became numb. “There goes one arm....more importantly how the hell am I still alive?”

He imagined the fact that Red sliced his chest open he would have died during the crash itself or at least bleed out while he was unconscious. But it hit him as he looked at his burnt arm that was submerged under water before he pulled it out so he could turn over and finally check himself.

Seeing his clothes were heavily charred before he slowly glided his hand across his chest and he twitched since it still hurt but that the wound was more or less closed likely due to some fire. “Ha....saved by an explosive fire that cauterized me? Can’t tell if I’m lucky or if I’m hated at this point....”

Looking over himself made him sigh as the thought that dying from the crash sounded a lot more appealing than living with his injuries. Once the pain was lessened enough he pushed himself to stand up even though he wobbled while just standing. Blinking a few times as he tried to wave off the smoke filling the air to see it now. The Atlas flagship seemed to break into two once it crashed and the fire from earlier spread to the debris as it covered the grassy park with flames. It was hard to think about the before image when he’d been here with Neo or the Twins or even Junior sometimes since all he could see was smoke and embers.

Though that brief moment of rest disappeared as he dodged forward when he heard a roar, glancing behind him to see a large Ursa as they destroyed the fountain for the water to spill out. “Tch....can’t get a fucking break..”

Their roar pierced the air as he looked around for a split second until he saw his cane a few meters away from him. He ran for it as he heard the loud beast rushing as he dove when the Ursa tried to strike but was able to grab his cane.

Turning over to raise his cane so he could block when the Ursa’s large claw came down on him but it was clear he wasn’t in the best shape to push since the bear’s strength was pressing heavily on him. Though when the claw was close enough that it actually cut his cheek did he accidently pull the trigger to fire a red flare off to the side.

At first he thought it would crush him but when he looked the flare he fired had distracted the Ursa and the pressure pushing him down was gone so he swung to hit the claw away before he shoved Melodic up its mouth before pulling the trigger. Once the smoke and remains of the Ursa dissipated did he push himself back up to do a three-sixty turn to see the Grimm coming from all sides of the park.

Raising up the cane to his mouth for him to hold by biting on it while he checked his pocket to take out the black scroll. Since he made it clear to Trig that he would do it himself he had him help Roman memorize all fifty numbers which were connected to the individual bombs planted at the edges and beneath the park itself.

Calling the numbers would simply show them as primed and would tell him if he was in range or not while entering a one would set the bomb off if he did it individually. But he made sure Trig linked everything together to one number that would set all the ones in range off the second he called. He limped his way as he kept checking his number while also keeping his eyes on the Grimm that were approaching.  _ Forty-three to forty-seven still aren’t in range... _

_ Look at you, how pathetic _ , hearing a voice made him look behind to see nothing before he heard the roars and screeches of the Grimm getting closer. Except that wasn’t his biggest problem as he dropped to one knee out of sudden pain to check his right leg and realise that the Ursa from earlier had clawed him when he dived for Melodic.

Looking around until he saw the wooden bench and for a second thought of Neo since it was the one they always used..... _ I can’t think about her now.... _ Putting the scroll in the breast pocket of his vest before taking his cane from his teeth to help him limp his way towards the bench.

_ You shouldn’t be here, fucking idiot _ , hearing the voice in his head again but he ignored it when he made it to the bench. Sitting down and setting his cane next to him so he could properly look at his leg which was bleeding quite a bit.

Roman sucked it up though and endured it and checked the numbers again to see that all the bombs were primed and in range. He slowly inputted the numbers for the final code and all he had to do was press call..... _ If you make that call then it’s all over for you, for us. _

Thinking about ignoring the voice but it caught his attention with the last two words...“For us?”

_ I know you can hear me, now look up and face me idiot. _

Following the voice as he said Roman looked ahead of him and with the scenery of the fire was two figures. One of them was small and looked like a child while the other was taller but appeared to only be a few years older, likely in their teens. Neither of them should have mattered to him....except their hair was his, their eyes were his, their face was his....they were him.

“You’re....”

_ Teen Roman - Do you really need me to say it? We’re you dumbass, and we’ve always been with you with every decision you ever made. _

“Haha....I really am insane....”

_ T. Roman - You never were, but you’re insane now if you’re really thinking of dying here. Why would you give your life for this city, these people? They haven’t done shit for you, in fact you should be glad this place is gonna burn to the fucking ground. _

_ Child Roman - It’s the right thing to do.... _

_ Shut the fuck up! _ , his teenage self had picked up the child by his collar,  _ It’s because of you that we’re in this mess! You’re the reason why he’s soft! _

“Who you calling soft kid....?”

Dropping the child as they stared daggers into Roman and pointed as if accusing him,  _ You. You got soft. The old you wouldn’t have just let this happen, in fact you’d be causing this yourself instead of that bitch if you actually took control. _

Roman thought about it and honestly the idea wasn’t that displeasing as he pulled out a pack to stick a cigarette in his mouth before he pulled out a lighter, “You think I can control it all? You can’t control how life hits you.”

_ T. Roman - You could have though, you could have taking the lead during every step of the way from when you first met Cinder....but you already got weak even before then. I helped you gain your freedom, that urge you had when you finally cut ties with our old man? That was me! I pushed you to make you strong and stand above all others...but then instead of just killing Sol and taking over the Syndicate you listened to him and destroyed our futures!, _ pointing to the child again as fire burned in his eyes and made it clear he was abnormally hostile towards him.

_ C. Roman -  _ _ If we took over we would have become like him! We did it because it would just hurt us in the end if we became the leader. _

“You don’t know that kid.”, keeping his eye out as he saw the Grimm still coming but...noticed that were moving at a slower pace than they should be...if anything in the amount of time they’ve spoken they should already be at his throat...

_ T. Roman - He’s right, you don’t know that. If we took power all we needed to do were to cut ties to the things that made us weak. Junior, Locke, the Twins, Neo...everyone that could be used as a tool to hurt us. _

_ C. Roman - Then we’d be alone again! We were alone the second we were born...the only times we were happy were when we were with them. _

“Enough...if that’s really how I sound like I’m surprised Neo or Junior haven’t blown my brains out already. So....mind telling me what is this? Why does it seem like everything is moving in slow motion...even the flames look slow to me.”

_ T.Roman - You’ve read books and heard stories about it. You’re having a near death experience. _

“Hah...so I’m knocked out....guess I’ll really die soon by a hungry Ursa or something then.”

_ C. Roman - You won’t, everything happening here is in a span of mere seconds in reality. _

_ T. Roman - And instead of having your life flash before your eyes, I came to knock some fucking sense into you. Think about it, you have no obligation to do this or help them....you wake up and you get out of this place. There won’t be anyone left alive to blame you anyway. _

“I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but I can barely walk as it is.”, pointing to his bloody right leg

_ T. Roman - We’ve gotten out of worse in more severe shape before _ .

“And how do you expect me to get past all the Grimm I lead to this place?”

_ T. Roman - You’ve barely fired Melodic, so it’s got more than enough ammo to take out any Grimm in your way. Blast your way out and leave this worthless place behind, you just have to do what we’ve always done best...survive. _ While he tried to ignore his words... he couldn’t just brush aside the fact that he did want to live and leave this place...Except the drinking, the nightmares, the shadows, the voices....he wanted it all to stop as well..

_ T. Roman - Tch...why won’t you side with me? You’re the one that pushed him to others, if you let him do this then he’ll just hurt everyone he ever cared about.  _ He pushed the child’s shoulder to bring him back into the conversation.

_ C. Roman - Don’t...you feel guilty about everything we’ve done? Ever since this started we’ve just been hurting people.... _

_ T. Roman - We’ve always hurt people, what about anything we’ve done since Cinder showed up is any different from that huh?! _

“We did it because of her instead of it being for us...”, and as he said that more shadows manifested before they slowly took shape and form...The first face he recognized was the clerk he executed when Cinder wanted him to gain attention. They cried, they begged, they mentioned their lover....their children....he continued to see more and more faces....civilians, the Atlas guards he had kidnapped and executed...

_T. Roman - So what? You think we deserve retribution? If you actually feel guilty about any of this than you can atone for it all while you're_ **alive.** _Cause you and I both know that dying this way out of guilt is the coward's way out._

“.....I’m tired of this shit....I’m tired of jumping at shadows...I’m tired of seeing someone’s bloody face the second I wake up.....and I’m tired of wondering if things are real or not....especially him.”, the two followed his eyes to see past the shadows to see the Grim Reaper standing out amongst them with his glowing red eyes. “So if you got a better way to make it stop now than this, I’m all ears.”

_ T. Roman - Sigh....you know you were better than this. _

“I wasn’t....I was just more ignorant when I was you where nothing really mattered because it never stuck to me. There's probably nothing else you got that you can say to me so all I can say is....Sorry, I’m pretty selfish.”

The teen looked at the child who simply wore a smile on his face before he sighed and walked over to sit on Roman’s right side and the child sat on the left side of the bench.  _ I know that. _

_ C. Roman - We’re you remember? _

“Haha...that’s right. I think it’s about time you let me go.”

_ T. Roman - So you’re really at peace with this choice huh? No regrets about it all or anything? _

“We’ve always got some regret no matter how many times we preach it to ourselves that we don’t.”

_ C. Roman - Yeah...you ready to go back? _

“Nope. But I don’t got a choice do I?”

They laughed together before the teen snapped his fingers and the world went completely dark for Roman...then once he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the red sky filled with smoke and embers. Looking around to see the two were gone along with all the shadows of the dead...except the Grim Reaper was still there watching him.

“Heh, always in my life no matter where it is.”, brushing the reaper aside he took another look around to see masses of Grimm had now filled the park. Or at least from his field of vision they did.

Setting the scroll down to take out a pack to put a cigarette in his mouth before he tried to search his body for a lighter with no success. Though he turned head as he felt a presence to see the Reaper was up close when they extended their skeletal hand for a flame to emerge from their palm. Bit surprised when he looked up to see just the eyes staring down at him so he leaned in to have the tip of his cigarette touch the flame for it to light before pulling back to the bench. “Thanks.”

Taking a few seconds to smoke as he relaxed himself on the bench before picking up the scroll, “I know it doesn’t matter at this point and that you probably won’t give me an answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Are you real?”

Answering him with a silent stare while Roman looked past to see a large Alpha Beowulf making its way towards him. Roman glanced at his cane that rested against his bloody right leg and thought about escaping again....but he already told himself he was done running as he kept his thumb ready to press the call button.

That’s when he saw the Reaper had turned and was walking away, “What? Not gonna see me off? Thought we were friends with how long we’ve been together.”, and surprisingly they turned their head to see Roman’s cocky smirk even though the rest of his body didn’t match his confidence.

Eying him for a few seconds before he turned his head back forward and kept walking before he disappeared. Leaving Roman laughing to himself as the Alpha Beowulf stood directly in front of him and looked down on Roman. “You fucks are a lot uglier up close, but you already knew that didn’t you?”

It growled at him as it bared its teeth when it grabbed him from the bench with its massive claw and started squeezing to make him hear the sounds of his ribs as he coughed up more blood than usual, “Gah....hahaha....You bastards are like the damn plague.....but you’re still just stupid animals.”

Raising up his right arm for the Beowulf to see as he pressed the call button on the black scroll to immediately hear the sound of an explosion as the ground shook violently which also made the Beowulf let go of Roman for him to drop to the ground.

It was dulled out a bit but the last things he heard before he closed his eyes were the continuous sounds of explosions and the howls of the Grimm....“See you bitches in hell.”


	31. Clean Slate

Slowly opening his eyes and once a few seconds passed did his vision come back to him to see a white tiled ceiling while he smelled something familiar in the air....trying to use his arms to push him up when he glanced to his left arm was completely bandaged from his fingertips to his shoulder and in a blue sling. Once he was able to push himself to at least sit up right he found that he was on a bed in a hospital room, “....Hell’s a lot more clean than I thought it’d be.”

Straining himself a bit before he moved his legs off the bed to touch the cold smooth floors, which allowed him to better check over his body. He was bandaged from the neck down and even surprised as he pulled just a bit on the ones on his chest to see that the large gash had more or less healed into a deep scar. He tried to stand but he barely put any pressure on his right foot before he sat back down due to the stinging pain.

That’s when he noticed the crutch when next to his bed though he did wonder where his cane was...but if he is where he thinks he is then he probably has a good idea where it was. Using the crutch to help him walk from the bed over to the other side of the room to look out the large windows as he heard the sounds of people talking and children laughter.

Looking out he could see the city was in ruins but it looked like people were building to repair and rebuild the buildings before he looked down. He guessed that he must have been at least five or six stories above but at the bottom of the hospital looked like a field hospital where EMTs, doctors, nurses and more were tending to numerous people with injuries while it looked like just regular people were socializing and children kicking around a ball. “Heh...this another cruel dream?”

“Holy shit.”, not even hearing the sound of the door sliding open until he heard a man’s voice and took him a second to recognize it as he turned, “Please Junior, there are children here.”

Looking relieved as he sighed due to Roman being a smartass as he walked up to him, “Not like you actually care. When did you wake up?”

“Probably less than ten minutes ago. Hey Junior, mind doing me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Punch me.”, not even hesitating when Junior reeled back to punch Roman square in his right cheek. “Ouch...didn’t even hesitate.”

“You ask me to punch you and you think I won’t take that shot after all the shit you do?”

Setting the crutch against the window as he turned to lean his back against it while he rubbed his cheek and checked to see if any teeth were loose. “Well at least this isn’t a dream. How’d I even get here? Last thing I remembered was being at the center of the park when the bombs went off.”

“No shit, did you have a death wish or something?”, looking visibly angered and concerned but Roman simply passed it off, “Can get mad at me later, so?”

“Sigh...who else is stupid and crazy enough to try and rescue a deadman from a damn minefield that’s already blowing up?”

A smile formed from his lips as only one person came up in his thoughts, “Neo...she really is the best.”

“I don’t know how she did it but it was shocking to see her carrying a bloody mess over her shoulder. Surprised you weren't already dead.”

“I'm wondering that too. How am I still here?”

“I made a few calls to some Docs from Tartarus. Black market medicine has always been my goto for my boys so I figured they could pull a miracle. And since you’re standing I guess they did.”

“Where is she?”

“Sleeping in the room next door after the girls got her away from you. She's been keeping an eye on you for the past two weeks you’ve been out. Which brings me to the point that you should still be out for at least another three to four weeks with your injuries.”

Thinking about how he was rescued made him remember just before the Beowulf picked him up he watched the Grim Reaper walk away from him and he eventually disappeared,  _ Is that why you walked away? _ , “You got a smoke?”

Shaking his head as he sighed while he reached into his pockets to bring out for Roman his usual brand and his pocket lighter engraved with his emblem. “Thanks,” giving the pack one shake to pop one up for him to bite with his lips before setting the pack on the edge of the opened window so he could light it.

“Whew....what’s the damage?”

“Remember that lady professor uh....Goodwitch? She usually fixes up the city but she’s pretty worn-out from the invasion still and it didn’t help her health by staying up for nearly a week straight trying to fix things once the older student hunters cleared out the few remaining Grimm. Though Beacon....”, not bothering to explain but rather took out a pair of binoculars as he pointed out the window.

Resting the cigarette between his lips first before he took the binoculars and looked towards Beacon Academy, just to find that it was completely infested with all kinds of Grimm. Not to mention there was something stuck to the destroyed tower that he couldn’t make out since it was too far. “Beacon....that place is gone, theres not enough hunters or soldiers left in this city to deal with that many Grimm and no one has got the firepower to take out the Goliaths....Overall we’ve lost only about thirty-five percent of the city that actually needs to be replaced instead of just buildings needing repairs.”

Taking another look to make sure he wasn’t seeing things but it was clear that Beacon Academy was gone, “Sigh....any idea on what happened to Cinder?”

“Trig said he was checking the cams and saw that she was at Ozpin’s tower fighting with that champion hunter...Nikos? The redhead didn’t make it.”

Expecting himself to feel something but...he felt nothing hearing of Pyrrha’s death or rather, what was there to feel? It even crossed his mind that she was the lucky one since he knew this was just a piece of the real hell. “...What about her two partners, the silver punk and green chick?”

“I asked Murdock’s boys to look where they could but they’re gone without a trace....Also it looks like Ozpin has disappeared, but we can’t check Beacon with it being infested even though it was the last place he was seen.”

“Hah...so the bitch really did win in the end.”

“Most of us are still alive so no she didn’t, don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“Like it matters if I do or don’t, so what’s your next move? You gonna rebuild your place?”

Junior crossed his arms as he was thinking before he took the pack and lit a smoke for himself, “Whew....Think I’m gonna take my trade to Atlas, my mother said she likes the people there too. Elena and Murdock mentioned they’re moving their businesses to Atlas as well since the black market there is bigger than it is here.”

“So everyone is leaving huh? Think Trig mentioned awhile ago he was thinking of moving to Vacuo since it was just a big desert for his crazy experiments, guess now is the perfect time.”

“Locke, Sebastian and Walter are staying to help rebuild the city and stay with their families....Also Gale’s boyfriend and his family got merced during the invasion so she’s been asking what’s going with you too, thinking she might ask to follow you since she’s still the same idiot from back then.”

“You say it like I’m gonna leave Vale too.”

“You honestly thinking of staying here?”

“It’s crossed my mind but....maybe a change in scenery will do me good. Got any ideas?”

“Depends, you wanna go clean or you sticking to the game?”

“Does it really matter?”, seeing the look on his face made Junior laugh which also helped Roman’s mood though he felt a sting in his left arm, “One idea for you, keep that arm bandaged cause that fire fucked you up pretty bad.”

“Thanks Captain Obvious,” feeling immense relief that the sting went away while he remembered when he first saw his crispy burnt arm that night and how the smell of flesh almost made him vomit. Though he noticed he was able to at least move his pinky so he figured he’d get his damaged arm back in full in a couple of weeks at most.

Taking at look at the Roman who seemed weakened with pain...“Maybe you should stay put here in Vale, least till you got your limbs working.”

“Yeah I’d love being bored out of my mind in some hospital bed for the next couple of weeks. Just give me something.”

Finishing his smoke before he put it out with his fingers, “I heard a couple of people in Mistral  are looking for a smart guy to run their raids and know personnel management. You were always the strategist and the manager for us back then, seems like an easy job for a big pay considering its you...but you’re gonna have to build up a new reputation again since the world thinks you’re dead.”

“Building a rep is easy, maintaining it is the hard part.”

They stood in silence while Roman quietly smoked, “So, this is where we finally choose different ways huh? Even after the whole thing, I still ended being your partner whenever you got your ass in trouble. This time you don’t got me to bail your ass out when you’re out there Roman.”

“I should say the same. The twins are good, but they can’t keep you out of trouble as good as me.”

“Actually...I was thinking the twins go with you.”

“What? Aren’t they your partners?”

“Unlike most people I don't mind a desk job, it’s the reason why I set up in the info trade business, less bad deals and less leg work for me personally. Them? They’re stupid and act on their gut, but when they follow your plans they’re fine.”

“....You just don’t want to pay for their shit anymore don’t you?”

Laughing after that comment as he heard his scroll ring, “Haha...well let me know when you’ve decided, I’m gonna take this and I need to make a few calls.” and Roman gave him the eye as he watched him step out of the room while answering his call.

Taking another look at the overrun Beacon in the distance before looking down to see some kids kicking around playing soccer. He picked up his light and pack before grabbing his crutch to help him walk out of the room. Nurses and doctors passed by while either looking at clipboards or attending to patients, but none even took a look at him so he started walking towards the next room over.

Opening the door to first see the twins playing cards on a table before they turned to see him with smiles on their faces but Roman gestured to be quiet as he pointed to the pink haired girl still sleeping. They nodded as he stepped aside for them to leave the room and close the door behind them when he set the crutch aside against the wall so he could quietly limb over to sit in the chair next to Neo’s bed.

Feeling relieved after seeing her adorable sleeping face...though it made him remember when he tricked her by using the sleeping dart on her. Her expression then had only shown that in a sense he betrayed her and knew she wouldn’t accept a simple excuse like it was for her or something. Though as he was thinking of what to say when she woke up he noticed her move a bit before she slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing first her waking up face before she finally realised who she was looking at when she pushed herself up to stare intensely at him, “Hey...cupcake.”, raising his right hand slightly to do a quick wave as he tried his best to smile when he was expecting to get hit.

And he wasn’t wrong, not moving or stopping as she raised her hand to slap him across his left cheek. “Hah...yeah I deserved that didn’t I?”, because of her slap he was looking at the ground but when he turned back he was stunned as tears spilled from her eyes when she hugged him tightly.

Neo was by no means weak but her hug seemed painfully strong....though he had to figure at least a quarter if not half of the pain was because his body was already in bad shape so any force would hurt him. But the pain seemed to disappear as he felt his chest was wet since she was crying before he slowly returned her hug, “I’m...I’m sorry Neo. I just wanted to keep you safe.”

She beat his chest with both of her fists which made him flinch but he endured it as she looked up to him so he could see her tear filled face, “And...I didn’t mean to make you worry.”, before she buried her face into his chest while still beating his chest with diminishing strength every hit.

It went on before she eventually stopped hitting him but still clung on to him in silence as he kept his eyes on her, “Done crying sweetheart?”, she didn’t move or let go but she did nod just barely so he could see her answer. “Then can you show me your cute face?”

After a few silent seconds did she let go so he could see her while she was still teary eyed and sniffling. Raising his right hand to her face to wipe the tears from her eyes, “Crying doesn’t suit you Neo, it ruins that smile of yours.” Showing her his own smile and eventually she followed suit as she wiped her new tears and smiled brightly for him. “That’s better.....I know you're mad at me, but you should understand I get pretty stupid when it comes to you right?”

_ Why...why couldn’t you just trust me? _

“Cause I love you, and unlike me you weren’t screwed up from the very beginning. You had a nice family before they were taken away and you even had Nico and the old sage before you met me. You could have had that again after all this was over.”, receiving a sudden slap again but he wasn’t surprised by it and more relieved she did.

_ Are you stupid?! _

“Maybe, but I did it because it was best for you.”

_ Stop lying!.....You didn’t do it just for me, I know there's more to it _ , seeing her concerned look only tugged at his heart as he turned his eyes down since it was painful to look at her expression. “You know...for the week or two before the invasion I was kind of glad that Cinder kept you away from me.....just one problem after the other and all I did was drink and use drugs to make it all go away...”

_ Roman.... _

“I’ve got too many skeletons in the closet Neo and it was all just coming to haunt me. I got use to sleeping with a gun cause I thought Cinder might slit my throat in my sleep but I stopped...because I woke up one morning with the gun cocked and pressed against my head with my own hand. The only reason I’m alive was because I forgot to load it the night before...but I still pulled the trigger in my sleep Neo.”

“The nightmares...the shadows...the voices....I..I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I wanted to run away from it but I knew running wouldn’t stop it....I knew only one way that I could make it stop and I put myself in a situation where it was the only one left to take.”

_ Did you even think how Junior, Melanie and Miltia would feel? Do you know what I felt when you put me in that escape pod?! I thought I’d lost you..... _

“I know...I didn’t think about anyone except myself. I just...I just wanted it to stop..all of it,” even hearing his own voice breaking when he felt a tear running down his right cheek while the fear he felt from before the invasion and the pain from that night was all coming back to him in full force. “I’m sorry...”

Suddenly he felt her slender arms wrap around his head as she pulled him to her chest to just feel the warmth of her embrace along with her heartbeat. It made him think about when he was talking to his teen and child self and remembered what the child said....that he was afraid of being alone. At first he chalked it up to exaggeration but if he thought about it...since his mother was gone when he was born and his father just gave him enough to wake up the next day when he was growing up he really was alone. Even after being partners with Junior and living with Neo he still had a fear of loneliness at times.....it definitely would explain his way towards women, it was less about the sex and more about just having a warm body next to him when he woke up.

“Neo. Can we stay like this for a bit?”, Neo knew Roman prided himself on not showing any signs of weakness but the fact that she could feel his tears and he was shaking when he asked her so she assumed it must have been difficult to ask. She held onto him tighter as she nodded for them to stay together in a peaceful silence that was long overdue.

It stuck for a few minutes until Roman raised his hand to pat her back to signal her to let go, “Thanks Neo.”, letting go to see his genuine smile as she reached her left hand to his face to wipe away the one tear left from his right eye, “Everything you do just makes me love you more you know?”

Seeing her bright smile made him happy, “You can come in now,” glancing over to the door to see it was cracked open with two pairs of eyes looking in on them. Opening the door to see the twins while assuming they were both listening in and stopping anyone from coming in. “You guys...made up?”

“Yeah we made up. Actually, got a question for you girls.”, beckoning them to come over and the pair listened as they sat on the edge of the bed with Neo so they were facing Roman. “Did Junior tell you guys?”

“Tell us what?”, and he thought it was pretty cute when they tilted their heads from the question but it also meant that Junior was serious about having them go with him instead of himself to Atlas. “Junior said he was moving to Atlas, since it's a better place for his mother.”

Melanie- “So we’re going to Atlas?”

“No. Just Junior is going, Elena and Murdock are moving their businesses there too. But Junior said you guys weren’t coming with him.”

Miltia- “How come?”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want a couple of little girls following his tail anymore.”, showing off his smug look which only made him receive light kicks from both of them to his knees. It made him  laugh even though it did sting but he didn’t show it, “Haha....Junior thought you guys didn’t fit his style of doing things so he figured you guys would do more without him. You can ask him, but I’m sure he’ll tell you no.”

Together- “Then...what should we do?”

“That’s for you guys to decide, you’ve just been following orders even before me and Junior.”

Miltia- “Well are you leaving too?”

Looking past them to look out the window to see the city in the shape as it was and just the silhouette of the fallen Beacon Academy far off in the distance, “It’s crossed my mind, staying here in Vale is probably not the best choice for me personally, knowing everything that’s happened so far.”

It made them remember that Roman was technically dead by the news and even if they found out that he wasn’t they would likely pin the invasion on him due to his previous appearances whenever chaos came. Though Roman moved his attention to Neo as she lightly tugged on his sling for his attention as she mouthed the word,  _ Really? _

“I’m not running Neo. Just think I need to spread my wings a bit, you know?”, trying to reassure her with a smile which seemed to get through her since his words didn’t have any lies to them.”Now you’ve been watching over me for the past two weeks so go back to sleep. I’ll talk to you again when you wake up, I promise.”

She nodded, “You guys mind staying with her?”

Together- “Okay.”, hearing that response he got up and carefully walked over to grab the crutch before he left the room and decided to go find someone.

\---------

It was rather easy for people to not recognize him since he was in such bad shape so it easier to talk and get information out of people before he ended up on the second floor as he was making his way past people to stop at a door. Finding it was smaller than the one he was in but it was made for one person and that person was the beautiful blonde haired woman he knew as Glynda who was asleep in the bed...though it looked like she was having a nightmare from her expression.

Setting the crutch aside as he limped carefully to the chair that was beside her bed but also next to the window while trying not to spill the styrofoam cup of coffee he got from the cafeteria. He had to admit, it was pretty nice not having to put some kind of disguise in order to walk among everyday people without any worry....being dead had its perk but it did remind him that he’d need an alias and some kind of background for his rep if he was going to work again.

Relaxing in the chair as he looked out the window to see what looked like people were trying to fix some of the buildings near the hospital while sipping his coffee when he heard noises coming from Glynda. Tossing around and mumbling words while she was in her bed but it was clear the nightmare must have been getting worse since after he put down the coffee he glided his hand on her forehead to find she was sweating. “Now what nightmare would you be having dear?”

Thinking of all the possibilities....but there was too many to count; a city in flames, a fallen academy and Ozpin still missing seemed like the worst nightmares to relieve though if it was her. He pushed open the window first before he took a cigarette to light so he could smoke, then he hovered his right fist over her face when he flicked her forehead with his finger hard enough for her to awaken, “Morning...or rather afternoon dollface.”

“Ro...is that you Roman?”, seeing the surprise on her face.

“Sorry to disappoint both of us, but yes I’m still alive.”

“I didn’t mean...”, raising a hand to stop her mid-sentence, “You’ve really lost your edge, I was expecting a good comeback from a sexy independent woman but instead I get the response of a frail little girl.”

Offering his cup of coffee for her to stare at him as he shrugged before she eventually took it from him, “...Thank you.”, and she took a sip while he smoked.

“When did you get here?”

“I was always here, asleep for the past two weeks.”

“Heh...really? How fortunate for you.”

“Am I that fortunate?”, since he was able to at least move his fingers he stretched them out as he unwrapped two of his fingers from his left hand to show the skin was completely blackened with red gashes and he was twitching the whole time he did, “Compared to you, I think I got the short of the stick love.”

Rewrapping his fingers for her to look over the bandages to see that it went to his shoulder, “Does it still hurt?”

“Obviously, but since I’ve been popping painkillers like candy the pain is almost numb. But enough about me, I hear you burned yourself out trying to repair the city.”

Setting aside the coffee cup to turn her body so she was sitting off the edge of the bed while looking out the window, “How else will Vale be restored if we don’t give every ounce of strength to it?”

“Now you’re sounding like Ozpin.”

“Ozpin...”

“.....They still haven’t found him...and with Beacon lost, what do you plan to do?”

Putting her hand to her head as if she was having a headache, “Ah...I..i have to repair the city..and find a way to contact the other academies..”

“Well you’re clearly not in a position to do the first one, and the second is impossible unless you leave Vale to go to the academies personally since the communication tower has been destroyed.”, seeing her trying to get up though she still seemed out of it since she struggled so he gently pressed two fingers against the left side of her collar for her to fall back to the bed.

“Wow, you are so frail right now. Didn’t think I could take you down so quickly with just two fingers.”

“Enough....I need to go.”, pushing her to get up as she wobbled towards the door.

“If you go out now you’re just gonna fail again Glynda.”, which stopped her in her tracks as she already had her hand on the door. “I have to do something...people are still suffering...”

Blowing out the smoke through the window as he glanced down to see the field hospital at the bottom, “What would Ozpin tell you to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“He’d tell you to get your ass back in that bed so you can rest to be at hundred percent when you finally decide what you’re going to do instead of acting on your emotions like you are now.”

She turned to give him a look as he shrugged, “Not in those exact words, but you know it's true dear.”

“You expect me to just wait while looking at that everyday?”

“ **I** don’t expect you to do shit, but since I’m being nice today I’ll lie to your pretty face this one time. You know what I expect of you?”

“...What?”

“I expect you to not go out like a fool trying to do their best and actually make plans to make the best of the situation because I know you’re smarter than I am,” opening the drawer from the stand to the bed to pick out a pen and a notepad.

He proceeded to write down Trig, Junior and Elena’s number before ripping the page out of the notepad as he got up from his chair and limped over to her. Showing to her face, “This is payment for your unwarranted concern a couple of weeks ago. Trig has the tech, Junior has the network, and Elena has the pawns to play your cards; if you can’t find Ozpin using them then you’re not trying hard enough.”

Pressing it to the center of her chest before she took it from his hand so he could grab his crutch, “See yah around Goodwitch.”, opening the door and leaving down the corridor.

\--------

[What kinda ship we talking about boss? Big, small, a gunship or a transport?], sitting underneath the night sky on a bench at the docks so he could look out towards the sea. 

[Medium size, equipped to handle at least the usual bandits and Gryphons, but fast enough to escape heavy gunships. Hopefully one that’s livable too.]

[Well I can put an order on one Mid-Level Cargo ship and outfit with the weapons and the drive by tomorrow night. Other than a few bedrooms and bathrooms want anything else? How about a kitchen or a library? I know you like to read.]

[Haha, you should already know what I want Trig so I’ll leave the additions to you. Thanks in advance.]

[Don’t mention it Boss. I’ll contact you again in a few days or the latest a week once it’s ready.], hanging up before putting away his scroll to take out his pack and shook it once for a cigarette to pop up so he could pull it out with his teeth.

Setting the pack aside he checked his pockets for his lighter, “Don’t tell me...”, as he was searching he turned his head when he heard a click to see Neo sitting beside him on his left for her to light his cigarette with his lighter. “Thanks sweetheart.”

She smiled as she gave him his lighter so he could it in his pocket before he relaxed to smoke for a few seconds, “I’m leaving this place Neo, I just need to do something to get it all out of my mind so.....will you come with me?”

_ Do you even need to ask? _ , carefully leaning to rest her head on his left shoulder which hurt him for a second but he didn’t mind it. He smoked peacefully while looking up at the stars, “Time flies fast doesn’t it Neo?”

“It’s only been less than a year but...I made a debut as a murderous bastard, got my ass pushed around by a red slut in heels, faked my death, tortured some Atlas soldiers, contributed to the invasion of the city of Vale that took the lives of who knows how many....now I’ve got probably the biggest tattoos that I’ve ever had in my life.”, and Neo peeked at his bandaged left arm and since he had his button up opened she could see the bandages covering the large scar across his chest.

“It’s one shitty life for being barely twenty.”

_ Are you okay Roman? _

“Yeah...just thinking about it reminds me that it’s easier for things to get worst than better in the future.”

_ Long as we have each other, it’ll be fine right? _

“Of course. It won’t be that much different from how we usually did things...just that this time we’re going down this road with a clean slate....hopefully one without stiletto heels at least.”

_ What do you think happened to Cinder? _

“Hopefully she didn’t just disappear instead of going back to ice cold hell she came from...but that’s probably wishful thinking. It’s more likely she and the White Fang have moved to tear down the next Kingdom since it looks like they accomplished what they needed to here in Vale.”

_ What if they’re in Mistral? Isn’t that where you’re thinking of going? _

“I thought about that already. The first time I met her I chalked her up as just another psycho bitch trying to make their name, but after it all...well I still think she's a psycho bitch but I know what she and whoever she’s working for is capable of now. So the next time we cross roads, I’ll be more than ready to play my cards against her. Gah...just thinking about her now pisses me off...”

Feeling frustration and anger as all he could remember was Cinder’s face and her smile that mocked him...though it disappeared he felt something soft touch his left cheek to realise Neo kissed him to bring him back.  _ It’s over Roman, like you said this is a clean slate. We can do more and be better than before. _

“Heh...yeah you’re right. You and me are the best together so we got this, right?”

_Right!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Sudden here, got a few things to say for this one.
> 
> First off, I want to say thanks to the readers for having a look at this work. Hope you enjoyed it if you didn't that's alright, we all got different tastes and like any regular person should I'll respect your tastes.
> 
> Now on to the actual work, while I'm trying to stick to the original timeline it does mean I'll stop here until volume four. Unless Torchwick is indeed dead(I'm the one that believes in that unless you see the body yourself you can't say they're dead or alive), then I'll end this story here as is. But I'll still think up ideas and side-characters if I am able to continue just in case. Other than that I'll work on trying to get better at writing with other stories that may or may not be uploaded here or just remain in my drive till hell freezes over.
> 
> Again, big thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good one folks.


	32. SOLDIER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of fun writing so I'm gonna continue, and what with Roman being deceased I'll tag in alternate sometime later. Also forgive me for the gaps between chapters since its more or less the last month of my classes, but other than that hope you enjoy.

**Months After The Invasion of Vale**

Three figures sat a small table in the corner of a large tavern...a red haired woman waves towards a waitress to order more drinks, “Wait, you saying that idiot Wick actually broke into the military’s armory and got away with it?”

Drinking the rest of his beer first when the waitress came by so she could take the empty one, “Hey I thought he was lying too even after he showed me his haul, but taking a look they all had Mistral’s seal on them and some of them even had a fingerprint reader meant they belonged to the higher ranks.”

The young lanky man followed the conversation even those his eyes were fixed on the waitress behind as they walked by, “How’d he do it? I mean the military’s pretty useless but it’s Wick and the place is suppose to be a fortress.”

“He didn’t say in detail, but he said it was thanks to SOLDIER.”

Red- “Soldier?”

The bulky light skinned man dipped his finger in ketchup before he wrote it out, “Yeah SOLDIER, the thing that’s been going around for the scumbags in the same trade.”

Lanky- “Seriously? That’s the sketchiest rumor that’s been going around these past couple of months.”

Bulky- “But rumors don’t come from nothing Eddie, there's always an inch of truth for the rumor to be based around. A guy who directs jobs to the end and the result is the thieves always win with no casualties. Hell...the guy behind SOLDIER is probably military.”

Red- “Well...it’d make sense then as to how Wick did a military job and got away with it. Though are we still doing it Duke?”

Finishing his plate as he pulled out some lien to place on the table when he pulled out his scroll to check the time, “Yeah, I already got the buyer coming by at midnight so the job is set Lina. Besides, I’m interested in this soldier guy if he was able to even help dumbass Wick pull off that big job.”

The other two pulled lien from their pockets to pay for their shares as the trio left the tavern to get outside to see numerous people walking about as others were setting up for the night festival. “How do we even contact SOLDIER? I doubt they just have a phone number we can call.”

“I twisted Wick’s arm and told him the information he needed before he said he’d talk to them for me.”

Eddie- “What’d he need?”

Duke- “The place, what we’re stealing, who we’re stealing from, and who’s doing the stealing.”

Lina- “You told him about us?”

Duke- “Wick said the guy needed specific details or he wouldn’t even bother considering it. The fact that Wick called me a few days ago telling me where to go means he’s probably accepted.”

Pushing through the crowds of people while Duke noticed Lina staring lower towards people’s pockets and Eddie staring at women, “H sent me the photo of some store so that's probably the meeting place.”

Lina- “And we’re just gonna go along with this, with something we know nothing about...hell we don’t even know if SOLDIER really exists and it's just others talking outta their ass.”

Duke- “What do they stand to gain by coming up with a ghost that helps their jobs?”

Eddie- “They can blame the ghost if they’re caught to lessen their charges, that snitch Rick did it all the time. Now he's six foot under in twenty six pieces.”

Duke- “Maybe he's real, maybe he’s not; I’m gonna find out. But there's one thing I noticed from hearing people talk about him.”

Lina- “What’s that?”

“They’re either grateful they’re here or....they’re scared as shit.”

Ending their conversation they continued through the town as the people on the streets were thinning out since they were farther from the festival as the sunset shined over them. “Over there.”

Pointing them to where the dirt road ended with small run down buildings to the side...but one store at the end with it’s dim neon sign matched the one in the photo....it also helped that he noticed the one shady figure standing next to the door.

As they got closer they noticed it was a light skinned man who wore a bandana covering the lower part of his face but their attention drew to his arms that was covered with prison tattoos; they even thought the long ones were suppose to be barbwire until they realised it was just healed scars. “Hey, Wick told us this is the place to go.”

They didn’t speak as they finally looked up for them to see his right eye was a baby blue while his left was completely white with a slash mark going through. Though with no answer Duke figured it had to be the other, “We’re here to see SOLDIER.”

The man pointed to his left for them to see a wide wooden drawer box with a dagger stabbed at the top of it. “Lina, Eddie?”, gesturing to them as he himself had no weapons on him before they walked over to the box.

Lina dropped two silver revolvers into the box and Eddie dropped his switchblade along with six smaller knives before they reached into their pockets showing they had nothing left to the guard. Still giving them the eye but he nodded after he simply moved his right arm to hit the door wide open.

Duke lead the way with the other two behind him as they entered in what was some abandoned store due to the empty shelves and worn-down wood floor. “You see the tats on that guy?”

Lina- “Didn’t expect them to hire ex-cons.”

Duke- “Prisons are the best place to find recruits since you already know what they can do; it makes sense, plus they probably don’t have to pay them much.”, they stopped at the end of the room in front of a counter as another equally tattooed man was waiting with a black and silver box that he pushed towards them.

Duke stepped forward to carefully open the box to reveal only an orange tinted scroll, they were a bit confused as they turned their eyes to the man who was stoic as he had arms crossed when the scroll rang. The name on the caller ID showed it as SOLDIER when he picked it up, [Hello?]

[No matter what happens the split will be 50/50, can’t accept that then drop the scroll and get out. What’s it gonna be?], surprised to hear a young but clearly assertive male voice over the line.

Looking to his companions first, “50/50?”, seeing that Lina just shrugged while Eddie kept a watchful eye on the tattooed man when he nodded with a yes. [Deal.]

[Alright then, hand the scroll to my employee.], listening to the voice he pulled the scroll away from his ear to hand it to the tattooed man for them to take before they held the scroll up to their ear. They didn’t talk and only nodded as they figured he was receiving orders until he ended the call to put the scroll back in the box.

Putting the first one away before taking out a steel case and popped it open for them to see three ear pieces, nine syringes, three metal wires and three black pistols with suppressors. The man gestured them to put the earpieces on first before anything else.

Once they all had the earpieces set, [Muscles, Hottie, and Shady; I’m sure you can figure out who you are. Take the weapons, if you listen to me they’ll be all you need and you can find any personal effects you left outside conveniently at your own home.]

Eddie- [You already know where we live?]

Lina- [Usually have to torture me for that kinda info, or at least treat me to a nice dinner.]

???- [I’ve had a lot of practice getting information, would you like me to tell the boys your three sizes along with how many men and women you’ve had a sexual relationship with Lina Williams?]

Eddie- [Woah, you know that?]

???- [I do Eddie Sozen, I also know that the only woman you’ve slept with is your first cousin in the back of your uncle’s pickup truck when you were sixteen and she was fifteen .]

Feeling a pair of eyes on him to notice Lina looking at him with a face of disgust, “Gross.”

“H-hey it’s not completely my fault! We were both drun-”

Duke- “Shut up Eddie.” [Well you proved you got them, what do you got on me?]

???- [Ah, Duke Fairfield. Divorced twice, they were quite the catch by the way, but they couldn’t take the dangerous life could they? What else....ah now this is a tearjerker here; a down on his luck dad trying his best for his three year old daughter makes the decision to shoot his daughter dead because she was in constant pain from a rare disease that she was born with and already knew she wouldn’t make it past the age of five. Still want to waste our time and keep testing me?]

The other two didn’t see any change in emotion on his face but noticed Duke was clenching his fists for a few seconds before he took a silent breath, [Sorry for requesting on short notice but I wanted to test your skills.]

???- [Are you really testing me though? Even though you’ve done quite a bit of legwork for this heist and twisted more than a few arms for the information, I can only assume you’re still nervous about this if you’re coming to me. Cause I mean a man like you, giving up the reigns for your prize to some random voice?]

Duke- [If you’re really capable of what people say you can do, then I’ll trust that we’ll get more than just the diamond and come out with five times the profit since you probably already know what else is inside that mansion.]

???- [Well how the profit and more importantly, how this ends will be up to you and your comrades. I tell you to jump you jump. I tell you to drop you drop. I tell you to shoot you shoot. If you can’t follow my orders to the letter then I’m not responsible if you die a moron’s death. Got that?]

3x- [Got it.]

Lina- [So mystery voice, what do we call you?]

[Call me whatever you want, most people just stick with Soldier. Now if you’re ready, there's a truck waiting outside for you along with some clothes for the event; Go get dressed and my employee will drop you off.], hearing a honk caused them to look back to see out the open door was the large black truck with another tattooed gentleman who was dressed like a chauffeur parked outside.

Following orders they stepped outside the store towards the truck to see the chauffeur was pointing them towards the back for the trunk to open to see one large black suit, one thin white suit, and one dazzling red dress included with a white leather purse. “He’s got nice taste.”

Eddie- “Creepy, I think this is actually my size.”, holding the white suit to see it seemed to fit his size.

Duke- “Just get dressed, Lina go on the other side for some privacy and we’ll be here.”,  she happily took the dress to get to the other side of the truck while Eddie and Duke began to switch out with the suits.

[So you’re the type to not get your hands dirty Soldier?]

[Trust me, Muscles. I’ve got more blood and bodies on my own hands in the past few years than you’ve made your whole life.]

[I see......can you really get us through this?]

[Life is like chess Muscles, everyday the board resets and you’ve got all your pieces in order. Follow my orders, and you won’t even have to fire a gun.]

[....If that’s true, then you’re already expecting one of us to fuck up by giving us the weapons when shit hits the fan.]

[Like I said, just follow my orders. Don’t and you’ll just make things harder for yourselves. I’ll speak to you again once you’re there, enjoy the ride.]

\--------

It was a relatively quiet drive until they looked out the window to see the large gates which was the entrance to the mansion. The chauffeur gestured Lina who was sat in the passenger seat to climb into the back with the other two as he pulled up to the guard window. They watched the man pull out a blue envelope to hand to the guard for them to check the contents before they opened the gates.

He waved them to go and the driver did when Eddie looked toward the guard as they were leaving to see just a side of the back of their neck but he was sure the word SOLDIER was tattooed on them. “He’s already got people on the inside...”

Lina- “Meaning this job should be a piece of cake, wouldn’t be surprised if he had the cops on his payroll as well too.”

Eddie- “Don’t you think it’s too weird that he has people inside this quick? What if this is a set-up? I mean you didn’t talk to Wick until a few days ago when he made the call right Duke?”

Duke- “I know what you’re thinking Eddie, but the rumors around him have been going a few months so it’s not that surprising if he’s already grasped his claws in certain people. Forget about that and get your head in the game. If this works this could potentially be the last job we need to do and live without worry.”

Driving up the path to turn into the circle before stopping at the steps of the mansion; his voice was cold like ice though it was more normal than they thought when the chauffeur addressed them, “There's three small boxes in the back that are **gifts**. Hand them to the first server that comes to you and the Boss probably already told you before but this is a reminder, just listen to his orders.”

Lina- “What happens if we don’t listen?”

Taking a pause to pull his white glove off his right hand to reveal three of his fingers were metal, “You wanna find out?” as he held it out for them to see. Their silence was the answer he needed before he pointed for them to get out of the truck. Duke got out first to open the truck and pick up two boxes while Eddie picked up the third.

Lina was the last to get out, “Hey, is your Boss cute?”, the second she closed the door he drove off immediately. “He really didn’t like me did he?”

Duke- “Other than when you’re in shorts showing off your butt or when you’re stripping cause you’re drunk no one likes you Lina.”, handing one of the boxes to her so each of them was carrying a gift.

Lina- “Rude...”

Eddie- “Too bad it’s true.”, receiving an elbow for his agreement before they walked together to enter the mansion doors as they opened by themselves. Seeing the entrance hall along with large crowds of well-dressed and some strange smelling people, though they carried on to the second floor since Duke had already looked over the layout of the mansion with his own work to lead them to a type of collector’s room.

Priceless vases, abstract looking paintings, exquisite wine and more lined the walls and pillars of the massive room as the guests gazed upon them, “Its like a gold mine man...” Duke elbowed Eddie to stop him from drooling at the women and had to pull Lina to him cause he recognized her eyes when she was looking to pickpocket.

“Will you two focus?”

“Care for a drink?”,  turning to have their attention to a smiling brunette who wore a black tube top minidress but recognized her as part of the staff due to the necklace she was wearing which match the same logo that was on the gates.

She handed each of them a glass, “Would you like me to take your gifts as well?”, remembering what the chauffeur said they nodded as they handed her the three small gifts. “Enjoy.”, watching her leave and turned their eyes away except for Duke who kept his eyes on the woman.

As she was leaving three well dressed men had walked by her as they each took one of the gifts before walking in three different directions. [Enjoying the view? It’s not everyday people like us get to walk amongst the wealthy trash during their private events.]

Duke- [Don’t matter how rich they are if they’re dumb as bricks to show off their collection. What do you want us to do?]

Soldier- [Why don’t you three move towards the center of the room to actually get a look at the main course?], keeping his grip on both of them as he led the way and moved past the people until they stopped due to a red rope that stopped the crowds from getting any closer. At the center held in a glass case was a longsword with symbols etched into the golden blade, but what took the eyes of many was the glimmering white jewel that was the pommel of the long sword's handle.

Soldier- [A pristine gem that was carved from a special diamond that has been loss for decades, leaving the gem on that sword as the only remain of that diamond making it’s worth rise to the sky. That gem could buy the life of every person in that room with you, and you’re gonna steal it right in front of them.]

Eddie glanced down over the red rope to notice that the space around the glass case which was twenty-four tiles had a slightly different tint compared to the bronze tiles they were already standing on, “How are we even gonna get close enough to grab it? The floors boobytrapped.”

Soldier- [Tell me, what do you hear besides the wealthy snobs?]

The three looked around while paying attention to the noise around them when Lina noticed it first, “A violin?”, hearing the sounds of the instrument before they felt a rush of air above them as they looked to see above them were two figures on hoverboards. Taking a closer look to see one was a young woman in an elegant red dress and the other was a near identical woman except she wore an equally beautiful white dress as they both played a violin.

Eddie- “Flying violinists? Rich people are weird.”

Lina- “Have to admit, it sounds really good.”

Duke- [So we’re gonna steal the hoverboards to get past the trapped tiles?]

Soldier- [You don’t need to think or worry, all you have to do is listen. A man with blonde hair in a silver suit is going to be behind you, he’s gonna ask you a question and how you answer is how things are gonna go.]

“Thing is a damn beauty don’t you think?”, hearing a male voice to make them turn revealing it was indeed a blonde hair man likely in his early thirties wearing a sharp silver suit.

Duke- “Yeah, it looks expensive.”

Blonde- “You know about aura right?”

Lina- “The stuff that’s supposedly in everyone but...really only the hunters have it so they don’t get hurt right?”

Blonde- “You got it, and because hunters have unlocked this aura they can step toe to toe with the Grimm. You know there are even cults seeing some hunters as their saviors or even gods?”

Eddie- “Guessing this is related to the sword...?”

Blonde- “The real name of that sword has been lost since it's changed hands after so many decades, that's why everyone only knows it by its nickname G-”

Duke- “God Killer...right?”, seeing a smile forming on the blond man’s face. “That’s exactly right, why you ask? Because that sword is supposedly able to cut through aura making the thing that makes hunters who can be seen as gods bend to its will since they’re not as strong as we think they are.”

Duke- “You going somewhere with this?”

Blonde- “Haha, impatient aren’t you? I just have one question, if you had that sword, that power....would you kill a god because it's their fault you’re suffering or would you spare them, not because you forgive them, but cause you could kill them anytime you wanted?”

They were surprised he had such a cheerful and positive air even though his question was unnaturally cold with his tone of voice, but Duke spoke up for them, “If I’m suffering because of them...then I’d spare them and make them feel my pain.”

Suddenly the Blond man’s expression changed to a deadly one as the warm air around him ran cold, “Is that your final answer?”

The three looked each other in the eye as they thought about their own pasts and remembered their troubles until...“Yes”, was the answer they spoke together.

“Wonderful!”, suddenly the warm air around him returned as he had a bright smile that seemed to even gain attention, “Thank you for humoring me, enjoy the party and more importantly remember to live with no regrets.” With the initiative the Blond man took Duke’s hand to shake when he felt something.

Bowing a second to Lina and Eddie before he turned around and left them as Duke opened his hand to reveal a keycard with the label ‘Master’ on it. [Soldier, are you here too?]

[Do you really expect me to answer that?]

Duke- [How are you able to tell us all these things without actually being here to see us then?]

Soldier- [I can either say nothing like I plan to or I can choose to kindly lie to your face, which would you prefer?]

.....

Soldier- [In any case, Shady.]

Eddie- [Yeah?]

Soldier- [You and Muscles hang around the GK and get comfortable but not to comfortable since I’ll contact you again in a few. Hottie, time for some one on one; head out of the collection room.]

Listening to him they split up with Lina heading for the exit while she glanced back to Duke and Eddie making their to the wall when she noticed two women trailing just enough behind them for there to be a sizable difference. Pulling out her scroll she sent a text to the two about them before she had exited the room to end up out in the main hall again, [Where to honey?]

[Turn your pretty eyes left, and tell me who stands out.], she only glanced for a second to pick out the suited guard with black tinted shades covering her eyes.

[The guard, she looks like she’d have a pretty face without the shades.]

[Shes your size, remember her and where she is. Walk left to enter the hallway until you find the women’s bathroom.], taking a quick look around the female guard to make a mental note of her position before continuing down to enter hall while gently passing through the noble traffic.

She had to admit it was nice getting some lustful looks from the men and women instead of the murderous glares she usually would have gotten if it was the usual tavern or sometimes on the street when someone recognized her. [Enjoy attention that much? You look like you’re getting a little too excited, maybe even a little wet, would explain that spot on your dress.]

Chuckling but she refrained from looking even though she was tempted and tried to steer it away, [Doesn’t everyone like a little attention? Never met a person who doesn’t like it.]

[You haven’t been in the game long have you my dear?]

[Don’t you already know? You did look us all up, or were you lying about knowing my three sizes?]

[You can believe me or not, but I can tell from these photos about the tribal tramp stamp along with these heavily sexual scenes and hospital records listing the drugs you’ve almost overdosed on prints you out as a naughty girl. Maybe I’ll give you a call once this is over if I’m still bored.], stopping to see the women’s bathroom as a couple of women came out of it.

[I don’t mind being a booty call long as you can keep up, though just from the sound of your voice is making me want more than a one night stand.]

[Try not to drool over me sweetheart, step inside and tell me how many are in there.], Lina still looked around trying to find out where he was watching from before she stepped inside the bathroom where she could hear one in the stall while there was a group of three women fixing their makeup as the sinks.

Flashing a charming smile as she walked pass them to enter the stall at the end and sat on the toilet while keeping one ear focused on how many voices were in the room, [Three at the sinks, one in the stall honey.]

[Just wait then until only the one in the stall is left, because it sounds like the three are her bullies so she’s gonna wait for them to leave before sobbing at the sink.], listening to the conversation to realise the three girls were talking about someone in detail while noticing the faint drips of water to the stall next to her.

[Well if I’m just waiting then can I ask a question? When did you join this side?]

[I was born on this side, it’s why I’m so good at it and it’s why you should get out one of the syringes strapped to your right thigh dear then count to ten before you peek.], hearing the heels of the girls at the sink leave as she counted to ten in her head.

Lifting her dress just a bit to pull out one of the syringes she strapped to her thigh when she changed before getting up from the toilet then pressing the door slightly to peek and see the girl burst from the stall to indeed see her crying at the sink, [Take her down, quietly.]

Spinning the syringe in her hand to hold it with a reverse grip like a knife before slipping out of her heels to gently push the stall door further while the poor girl was still too busy crying to look up in the mirror. Lina crept while keeping her ears up to hear the door until she was directly behind the girl.

Until the crying girl finally looked up from the sink to see in her reflection the beautiful red head with a syringe but before she could scream Lina covered her mouth as she stabbed the syringe in the right side of her neck to notice that her body immediately went limp.

But she seemed to start twitching as she quickly dragged her body in the stall just before she heard the door followed by the sound of heels entering the bathroom. She had wrapped her legs around the girl to stop her from twitching in order to keep her quiet while keeping a firm grip on her mouth while she listened to the women move around outside the stall, [Didn’t know you liked em so young Hottie, but you can let go of her now because she’ll be quiet as a doll.]

Wanting to retort but she knew she couldn’t answer him with so many people just outside the thin room and was cautious about the girl. [Don’t you trust me?], her instincts told her no but her brain told her yes as she slowly removed her hand expecting the girl to scream.

Except it was silence, minus the people talking outside the stall when she finally let go of her hold to carefully set the girl on the toilet so she could actually see her. Her body was completely limp as she stopped twitching and was just there silently even though she pressed her ear against her chest to hear her heart still beating and that she was still breathing normally. [Her entire body is paralyzed for the next three days; she can’t run, scream, or even lift a finger but she’s still conscious. Don’t believe me? Check her eyes.]

Listening to him she got in close and opened the girl’s eyes to see her eyes could still move as she was looking around erratically before locking eyes with Lina which made her pull back for the girl’s eyes to close, [Freaky...and you have this stuff on hand?]

[Feel free to try any spare syringes, get a taste of what it feels like to be a meat popsicle though I’d recommend locking up your home since you’ll become a rapist's free meal for three days. Now if you’re done ogling the poor girl, go get that female guard and tell her its an emergency.], peeking as she cracked the stall door open to see the last woman leave the bathroom before she left and closed it tightly behind her.

Leaving the bathroom to enter the crowded hallway again to quickly make her way back to the guard since she knew someone would find her before she came back if she wasn’t fast enough. Scanning until she saw the guard since she recognized her blue hair before she grabbed her left hand, “You have to help me!”

“W-what’s wrong?”, the female guard seemed more startled and younger than she first expected her to be which she had to force herself not to reveal a smile. “My friend needs help! She’s collapsed in the bathroom.”

“I-i’ll call for help then...”, about to pull her walkie when Lina tugged on her arm again, “There’s no time! You have to help her please...”

“...Take me to her.”, seeing the look of confusion on their face before Lina pulled to lead her through the crowd before entering the bathroom. “Where is she?”

Pointing to the end of the stall, “She’s in there...”, and she watched the female guard walk over to open the stall door. [That seemed almost too natural, had a few bad girlfriends before dear? Anyway, wire her so there's no blood on the suit.], pulling from her purse the black wire as she quietly got behind the guard who was inspecting the girl when she opened one of her eyelids to see the girl was still awake.

It was too late as Lina pressed her right knee against their back to pin them to the girl as she wrapped the wire around their neck as she slowly continued to pull the wire as she heard them gasping for air. The struggle didn’t last long when she pressed her knee against their back harder before their arms went limp and fell forward with their face into the girl’s chest. [Whew...what now?]

[She’s your size remember? Change clothes and check your scroll, I’ve sent you the layout of the place so you’ll head to the security room which is also the power room and wait for my go. After my instructions head back to the collection room. Gonna talk to the boys for now, don’t miss me too much Hottie.]

Back in the collection room Duke tried to avoid talking to people and occasionally drinking when a server came by but his main focus was keeping an eye on Eddie as he was smooth-talking to a few girls, [Muscles.]

[Guessing Lina was a good girl?]

[Indeed, she listened like a good girl. Though now I bet you’re wondering why you were given a master keycard huh Muscles?], pulling the card from his suit jacket and flipped it over to see the word master on it. [Does it involve security?]

[In some sense yes, remember the glass case? Remember exactly about what you saw that would make sense to have a keycard.], thinking back on it he remember on one side of the pedestal holding the glass case had a very thin slot but it looked like it could fit something like a keycard.

[With the expression on your face means you got it, but the question is how do you do it when you can’t even get close enough to reach it? This is a good time for Shady to show off his parlor tricks and impress the ladies.], looking back to see Eddie was juggling small trinkets for the women he was talking to which either impressed or made them laugh.

[I trust Eddie to know he has my back, but I’m not as faithful on his accuracy when he’s had a few drinks.]

[I trust Shady will do what he needs to because he’s got quite a bit riding on this as well doesn’t he? Four insanely large debts with some dangerous people, it’s quite the motivation don’t you think?]

[....What do I have to do?]

[You’ve worked together so you should know how to be able to do this, just help Eddie perform his trick.], hesitant but he listened and walked over to Eddie as he put a hand on his shoulder. “Come on Eddie, these girls don’t wanna see some juggling why don’t you show’em how good you are?”, as he slipped into his hand the keycard before giving him a look.

Seeing a server pass by to grab the apple off their tray before he walked over to have the glass case behind him as he held up the apple. “...You sure about this Duke?”

“Come on, give these girls a good show,’ encouraging him with a smile as Eddie nodded when he brought out golden switchblade with a skull design. It was his lucky blade that he always kept on him no matter what situation. Eddie aimed as there more than just the girls looking at them before he threw it with high velocity to pierce the apple.

An applause erupted around them but Duke laughed, “Haha, come on you can do better than that.”, when he pulled the switchblade out and tossed it back to him. Eddie tossed up the knife to hold it by the tip of the blade with his thumb and index finger but Duke saw the keycard between his index and middle finger.

Duke tossed up the apple as Eddie kept his focus before tossing the switchblade and in the split second he saw everyone’s attention was on the blade he quickly tossed the keycard. Since he used more strength in the keycard it passed the blade mid-flight as it cut the apple in half before it dropped into Duke’s hand and the switchblade bounced off the pedestal to land and pierce one side of the apple.

Another round of applause as Eddie seemed to bow with the praise when Duke glanced behind to see the keycard was in the slot to see a small green light before hearing a click. Seeing thin latches at the corner of the glass case unlock and assumed the latches on the other corners had unlocked as well. [Stellar performance, must be a big booster to Shady’s confidence huh? Too bad you still need to take the glass case off without anyone seeing, but I’d lend a hand with this one.]

Hearing the sounds of the violins louder than before for him to instinctively duck down when the twins on the hoverboards flew by as they played their instruments. [The violinists are on your side too?], the lights in the large room seemed to dim down as the twins’ hoverboards shined brightly with red and white neon lights.

The song seemed to pick up along with the speed of the hoverboards as they spun and twirled in the air with them being the shining light as the room gradually got more dark to the point that he could barely see the glass case itself. Until they flew circling around the glass case itself to surround it with some kind of dust that seem to remain with a faint glow.

As it was reaching the climax the twins had rode their boards on the walls; one going clockwise and the other counterclockwise before the shot themselves from the middle of the opposing walls to ride for the middle which was the glass case covered in a thin dust mist. But they broke to shoot up just before they met and Duke saw the boosters propelling the boards had shot up the loose glass case to then let the twins smashed the bottom of the boards together while destroying the glass in a flashy spark in the process. The twins jumped off their boards to land on their feet just as the lights went on for the crowd to applaud the performance as they bowed but none noticed the glass case surrounding the sword was now gone. [All that’s left is the alarm floor now.]

His attention moved from the sword as the twins began to play again but noticed they left their boards right next to the rope. With the attention on the girls as they played through the crowd he moved along the peanut gallery until he was close enough to one of the hoverboards. Making sure everyone who was close enough to him had their attention on the twin violinists before he tapped the hoverboard with his shoe for it to move slowly towards the pedestal since the board was long enough for the two tile gap.

“Excuse me sir, can you come with us?”

“W-what? I didn’t do anything.”, hearing one unknown voice before recognizing the second came from Eddie made Duke turn around to see him being confronted by two security guards. “Please come with us sir, you don’t want to make a scene do you?”

They grabbed his arms and Eddie tried to pull away except when he did a diamond necklace, a silver ruby ring and several other expensive looking items fell out of his pockets. “Hey that’s mine!”

The reaction of several men and women as their recognized their belongings after realising they were missing, “Please come with us now sir.”

“Damnit Eddie..”, Duke glanced back towards the sword that was inches within his reach but headed back towards the scene as he was reaching for the gun in his pocket. [You’re really willing to give up your last payday for your friend who can’t help but fuck it up aren’t you? You still got a chance, let him go and run away with the sword in the commotion.]

[....Eddie’s always had my back whenever I fucked up, so I’ll always have his whenever he does.], but Duke stopped in his tracks when he heard a gunshot to see the people moving away for him to clearly see Eddie grabbing a woman hostage with the gun to her head as the two and several guards had come to aim their pistols.

“Drop your weapon now!”

“Back up or this bitch is dead!”, pressing his gun against the crying woman who was begging for her life as he faced off against several guards when he heard another click to notice Duke stood next to him aiming his gun at them.

“Sorry Duke...”

“Don’t worry about it, we all fuck up sometimes. Just need to get out of this mess.”, Duke slowly aimed his pistol between the several guards to keep them on their guard until he noticed one of them in particular. They seemed familiar until they tipped up their cap for him to recognize it was the man in front of the shop when he saw his white left eye. They mouthed the words slowly enough for him to read off his lips to know he said, _Get Ready_

The White eyed man who already held up his pistol pulled out a second one as he changed directions to aim his pistols at the other guards before he began to fire at them. Panic raced through the room as people screamed and more guards were coming to the scene, “Get the sword!”

Surprised but Eddie let go of the woman as he and Duke ran towards the pedestal. Duke used the hoverboard as a stepping stone to let him grab the sword while Eddie saw guards were shooting each other to let him only assume at least half of them belonged to SOLDIER. “Duke lets go!”

Jumping off the hoverboard with the sword in his hand as they regrouped with the White Eyed for them to head towards the front when they stopped as they saw one of their comrades fly over them before they crashed meters away. “Hunters!”

Their eyes turned back to the front to see a woman holding a spear with a man who wielded a large two handed axe. They stood still but Duke noticed White Eyed as he clenched his left hand into a fist after just looking at the hunters, but what surprised him was when he could hear from his earpiece, [Warden, we got hunters. What should we do?]

[Just kill them and get the job done.], raising his left fist up as several guards who they could more easily tell due to the tattoos had regrouped with them, “Focus fire the hunters!”

On his command their comrades unloaded their pistols and machine pistols on the hunters for the woman to get in front so she could spin her spear to reflect the bullets away. Which gave the man enough time for him to power jump high into the air as they brought their axe down to shatter the ground which threw everyone off their footing.

Though because they lost their guns most of them either pulled out knives, brass knuckles or metal batons as they charged the Axe hunter. Except a single great swing had knocked away at least half of them before they noticed Duke holding the sword.

“Move!”, pushing Eddie out of the way as he unsheathe the sword to block the axe but dropped to one knee due to the hunter’s pure strength. The hunter pulled back their axe to wind up before they swung sending Duke flying even though he blocked it. When he crashed his vision was blurry but he could see the hunter walking to him before they raised their axe in the air, except two chains wrapped around their legs to pull him back which made him roll before the axe dropped.

“Duke you okay?!” hearing Lina’s voice to see her dressed as a security guard before his attention went past her to see two of them holding the chains had pulled the hunter but when the hunter tried to turn over four of them with submachine guns had got to him first. Two stepped on his legs and the other two stepped on his arms before they aimed their guns down at the hunter.

Defenseless they unloaded but a white aura surrounding them was bouncing the bullets off until...he noticed the aura was slowly blinking red. “You hunters think you’re so special.”

Noticing White Eye pull out a sawed off shotgun as he walked towards the axe hunter. “Luke!” hearing the spear hunter scream before they saw a chain wrap around her neck to pull her away for four other guards to viciously beat her with their weapons and see the same blinking red aura.

But their attention moved back to the axe hunter as White Eye stomped on his chest for the red aura to shatter making the sound of a glass breaking, “You’re just fucking monsters, you’re no different from us. And just like us, you fucks deserve to die.”, raising the shotgun to fire which exploded the axe hunter’s head leaving blood splatter to smear the floor.

“Jax we got more incoming!”, turning to see the man who shouted get his head blown off before they saw guards coming from the front. White Eye who they now know his name was Jax put away the shotgun as stepped back, “Cover us, head for the window!” to start running after helping up Duke and getting Lina to pull Eddie.

The four ran towards the back of the collection room with their allies giving them covering fire before they jumped through the glass to end up falling into a pool. Duke swam up to break the surface to see they were in the massive backyard before a bullet shot next to him exploded the water to make swim towards the edge where he could Jax helping Lina and Eddie out. “Lets go!”

Not wasting anytime as Jax grabbed Duke’s arm and pulled him out of the water before pushing them forward so he could return fire with his allies, “Head for the woods!”

Listening to his orders they pushed past the people before they jumped the short stone wall to fall into the woods. Jax and his men fell shortly after, “Split up! If you make it then head to Warden, you know what to do if you don’t!”

Shouting commands for them to separate while the trio followed Jax with another one covering their rear as they went into the forest. Even though they made quite the distance they could still hear the sounds of shouting and what sounded like dogs not far behind them.

Duke turned at the sound of a thud to see the one covering the rear had his leg stuck in a bear trap before he tried to help him.

Eddie- “What the fucks a beartrap doing here?!”

Lina- “A hunter must have left it here, come on help him Duke!”

Duke- “Fuck! I can’t get it open!”, struggling but all his efforts did was earn him scratched fingers. When Jax stood over him and they noticed him giving him a look before the man pushed Duke away, “We’re not just leaving you!”

They shook their head before they pulled out a grenade and pointed them to go, “Come on, he’s made his decision.” Jax taking the lead before leaving his gun with the man who nodded as he kept the grenade close to his chest.

Seeing Jax continuing on made them follow him and when they had a sizeable distance they heard a loud explosion before they could see the smoke behind them, “We could’ve helped him.”

Jax- “Warden doesn’t need cripples.”

Duke- “Warden....is that Soldier’s policy?”

Ignoring his question to come to a stop for them to see it was at least a fifty foot drop. “Shit it’s a dead-end.”, before they heard shouting and the barking behind them.

Eddie- “Crap, where do we go now?!”

[Jump.]

3x- [What?!], surprised but when they looked towards Jax he simply shrugged before stepping back to fall off the cliff.

[I told you that you just needed to listen to my orders. So unless you want to sit in prison for the rest of your short lives, then jump.], looking at each other along with the sounds of the barking and shouting....

“Fuck it!”, Duke gripped the sword tightly before jumping off after grabbing both Lina and Eddie. Their screams filled the space around them but it was short lived when they safely landed on some massive bed. Finally regaining their composure to see they were in the back of the truck along with Jax who tapped the top of the truck, “We got’em, lets go!”

The driver responded by hitting the gas to quickly drive through the woods for a small leap to land them on a dirt road. “Holy shit....we really did it?”

Looking behind them to see smoke coming from where the mansion was before looking at the diamond on the sword, “Yeah....we did it Eddie.”

[Jax will take you to your buyer and spend an hour or two to relax and let reality sink in. Once you’ve got your bearings bring my cut north from the village you once were to a building called Southpaw.]

Duke- [I know we’re just using each other, but thanks Soldier. We wouldn’t have gotten it this easy by ourselves.]

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Sitting in a wooden chair atop a cliff overseeing the vast forest sat the orange haired man wearing aviators, black vest and black slacks along with his left arm wrapped in a white bandage wrap as he finished the rubix cube in his hand to toss it behind him. Which landed in a pile of six other rubix cubes with a silver haired wolf girl next to it attempting to try one for herself before she sighed, [Don’t thank me till you meet me. I’ll see you in a few hours.]

“How come you’re so good at this Roman?”, tapping a button on the right end of his aviators before pushing them above his eyes then taking his white hat from the wolf faunus girl. “Cause I actually use my brain, try to grow one Gale.”

Standing up to stretch his limbs and crack his fingers before looking up to see an aerial drone materialize out of seemingly thin air. It slowly descended into his hand before he tossed it to Gale who caught it just in time, “Go put that in the trunk and....” looking out towards the woods, “...Go get Red.”

Patting her head as he walked up by which seemed to cheer her up as she listened to head for the jeep parked with other trucks nearby while he headed for the moderately sized log cabin. Hearing the sounds of breaking and punching as he opened the door to see two large men beating down an older man to the ground as a woman was rifling through a desk while two others were tossing around red dust as small as breadcrumbs on the floor before they emptied their bags.

Bringing out a pack to pull out a cigarette and tried to light it with his pocket lighter but when nothing happened the woman came to him with matches, “We’ve cleaned the place out Warden, theres no info here about them.”

Taking the matches to light one, “Then load up the trucks and wait for us.”, lighting his cigarette before tossing the lit match away to land on a speck of red dust to ignite and lit up the rest of the dust for the flames to quickly spread around the cabin.

She gestured to the two who spread the dust for the three to leave while Roman stepped forward to the two who were still beating the man who from a closer look he could now tell they were some type of feline faunus due to the ears. Raising a hand telling to them stop just after the bigger man of the two stomp the faunus’ head to see several of his teeth come out, “Y-..you won’t get away with this...T-the...law will catch...you...”

Smoking for a second to chuckle, “The law? Did you forget where you are old boy? Mistral is too big for the government to handle, I could gun down dozens of people in front of a bank and we wouldn’t see a cop for weeks to even investigate. But I find it rather cute that you believe in such a weak system.”

The faunus looked towards the other two, “Do...you even know who this is? This man is a monster...he’s Roman Torchwick from Vale...he didn’t die back there but if you help him here it’ll only spell disaster for you and everyone here.”

Roman- “Not like you and your little terrorist group are any better old boy.”

Old Boy- “I..keep telling you I’m not part of the White Fang.”, which earned him a right punch from the smaller of the two.

“You honestly expect me to believe that you aren’t involved when both your daughter and son are involved?”

“Tch...even if you kill me you won’t get my kids.”

“Oh don’t worry, I already got them.”, seeing shock on his face as he pulled out a scroll to flip through the pictures before showing the faunus who went white after seeing them. “They weren’t cooperating as nicely as you are so we burned your son alive before we drowned your daughter in a tub filled with her girlfriend’s blood. That last bit wasn’t my idea but some of the girls said she deserved it for being so haughty.”

Turning off his scroll to put it back in his pocket when he heard movement to raise his hands as the old man had punch the small one in the nuts before leaping forward and baring his claws. But to his surprise Roman had easily caught his hands without moving an inch, “How...”, the old boy tried to push but it was like trying to push a brick wall.

“Hahaha....you think because you’re half beast that it makes you stronger than a human like me?”, pushing back to make the faunus bend his knees as his grip tightened. “You’re not the only ones getting stronger.”, pushing enough to hear a crack as Roman bended the man’s hands backwards before twisting them to hear another crack then kicking his chest to hear one final loud snap from the man’s shoulders as he crashed to the ground.

Dusting himself off as the two dragged the man as he could no longer use his arms to hold him up in front of Roman. “T-the...White Fang won’t back down to you racist bastards...”

“Please, this isn’t something as petty as racism or wanting to keep the faunus down.”, grabbing his face for the man to wince at his abnormal grip strength, “You bastards burned me along with that woman and I’m gonna make sure you all-”

Stopping after hearing his ringtone to check it was from an unknown number but when he picked up, [Hey it’s Roman right? It’s Junior.]

[Junior, long time no see. But how’d you get this number?]

[Who else?]

[Haha..well guessing there's a reason you talked Trig into contacting me huh?]

[Since you went off the grid after landing in Mistral everyone’s been wondering...until I started hearing rumors about someone called Soldier who directs people for a 50/50 split. That what you been up too?]

Turning to pull out a silver magnum from his right holster to press it against the man’s head before pulling the trigger to let blood spray out the back of the man’s skull which made the two drop the now lifeless corpse. [What was that?], gesturing them to go as he holstered the magnum and headed out the burning log cabin.

[Just management, you know how it is.]

[You know you can tell me if you’re still in the business Roman, already figured a peaceful boring life wasn’t meant for you anyway.]

[Proves you know me too well, so what's the call for?], walking towards the cliff to see the men and women under his command packing up the trucks when Gale came to him holding a large black heavy sniper rifle with red streaks for him to take. Since he sent his cane to Trig for repairs he’s gotten use to more weapons and firearms but it surprised him how light the heavier guns and weapons became after he’d been exercising just a bit more.

[To check on you, the twins, Neo, Gale and what not.], putting the earpiece back on for it to link with his scroll so he could it put away as he was checking on his sniper rifle he nicknamed Red, for no particular reason, before reloading it.

[Gotta admit, getting out of Vale was probably the smartest decision I made. The girls have been doing good as well, all of them, especially since here in Mistral it’s almost too much freedom....By the way how’s your mother been?]

[She still remembers who I am so I can be happy with that but...You’ve made some type of mercenary crew and the stuff you’ve been hitting is hitting the sky in terms of profit and resources...you’re gonna fight them again aren’t you?]

Pulling the bolt to see a bullet in the chamber when he looked at his left arm and could only remember the flames along with the screams of that night...[I’m just preparing myself.]

[You’re preparing yourself for a war Roman. You tried before and look what happened to you, what makes you think it’ll be any different this time?]

Bringing down his aviators to tap the button on the right end of his aviators for a type of blue HUD to appear in front of his eyes. Along with overlooking the vast forest the HUD mapped out and displayed several areas that were regarded as friendly camps, [This time the board is in my hands and the net at my disposal is only expanding every day....but don’t worry, I’ll make sure the girls don’t get in the crossfire.]

[Sigh...knowing them they’d jumped to fight for you.]

[Yea-], hearing a whistling sound made him turn to see an arrow almost touch his eye before Gale jumped to catch it. She showed it to him which appeared to be a custom made arrow when several of his allies had got out of the trucks with weapons as they stayed close by him.

[I’ll have to call you back Junior, a fly just stepped on my porch.]

[...Just don’t get yourself killed Roman.], ending the call for him to turn off the HUD on his aviators to push them back up so he could see normally towards the woods even though the smoke from the burning log cabin obscured their vision.

Holding the sniper rifle in his right hand while he was about to take out his cigarette to hear the whistling sound again to side step as he saw the arrow fly past him but saw the direction to hold up and fire a single round before an explosion occurred where he shot. The others fired their weapons into the forest until they were empty while Gale stood close by Roman wielding a curved dagger.

“You two with me!”, the woman shouting to the two men who beat the old man early moved up as they headed towards the woods while Roman took the brief moment to smoke and pull the bolt for a smoking cartridge to fly out. “Roman!”, hearing Gale as she jumped in front to block the silent arrow but saw it came from above the burning cabin for Roman to fire as his bullet split the smoke apart to see it was a female archer before he quickly pulled the bolt to fire again directly at the house.

The explosion threw them off as they jumped forward to land in front of the burning house along with being in front of six assault rifles and the three behind her when the woman and two men came back, “Well well, looks like you’re in a pickle my dear.”, pulling back the bolt for another smoking cartridge to pop out before he aimed at the archer. “We’re both professionals, so I’ll cut you a deal. You tell me who hired you and I let you walk away with your pretty face and at least one leg.”

“Screw you.”, seeing her eyeing around to find an opening. As he raised his left hand for his allies to slowly their guns before they started backing away and Gale stepped away from Roman, “Come on, be reasonable. What’s the point of continuing this when you know you’re gonna die if you don’t deal?”

She was faster than they could react as she nocked an arrow to quickly fire at Roman when he barely caught it with his left hand as he could feel the very tip touch his chest. “Like you said, I’m a professional and you’re head is mine!”

Tossing the arrow away as she broke her bow apart for it to form dual swords when she charged at him. Roman aimed at the ground in front of him to fire and explode the ground even though she charged through the dirt cloud but was surprised to see him quickly pull the bolt then pull the trigger again as she felt the barrel touch her stomach.

The smoke from the explosion consumed them before they saw the archer fly back and land on the ground for some of her clothes to be burned while she was relatively okay without any physical damage. However to her surprise when the smoke around Roman cleared he was without a scratch as he smirked with his cigarette, “They didn’t say you were a hunter.”

“You think only hunters can unlock aura? You still got a lot to learn honey.”, tossing his Red sniper rifle to Gale for her to catch as he took out and put on silver brass knuckles. He rushed her to throw a left punch for her to block with her right sword when he went with a right body blow to her exposed stomach.

Even though she took a step back from the blow Roman pressed forward to continuously land blow after blow because his movements with his fists were faster than she could match using swords. Seeing the opening he punched her square in the mouth and grabbed her as she stumbling back to throw another punch to her stomach to knock the air out of her before he turned her slightly to stomp on the back her right leg and hearing the break.

She spun her right arm to try and cut him when he grabbed her wrist then kicked her right elbow for it to break and bend forward along with her scream in pain. Collapsing to the ground as she tried touching her now broken arm when Roman pulled her head up to speak clearly in her right ear, “Last chance, tell me and I won’t break every bone in your body.”

“T-...t- to the west...a guy named November put the hit on you after you broke into his warehouse and stole his drugs!”, hearing his laugh before feeling both of his hands around her head. “See how easy it is when you tell me what I want? Now let me repay you with loving kindness.”, in an instanthe spun her head to snap her neck like a twig.

Letting go of her head to stand over her before he picked up the two swords and eventually put them together for them to click back into the bow. “Should we tell Jax and Erina to deal with this November guy?”

Pulling the quiver from the corpse to pull out an arrow as he readied one and aimed towards the cliff, “Deal with that chump another time.”, letting go for his arrow to fly out of sight and out of mind as a murder of crows suddenly flew away.

“Huh...guess I’ll try my hand at archery for awhile.”, tossing the bow to the woman before she picked up the quiver and they headed for their vehicles where Roman reloaded the sniper rifle before putting it inside a large metal case where there was a yellow tinted shotgun with a golden handle and two submachine guns but one was crystal white and the other was jet black. 

Getting in the driver's seat while Gale got in the passenger and he could see the others getting in their trucks, “Where to now?”

“Meeting place, and text Neo we’ll be late for dinner.”, hearing a ping from his scroll to check it was from Erina saying, [We found a rat scouting the place, what do you wanna do with her?]

Thinking who they could be with the mess from this November guy and a few other people he’s dealt with lately but his mind drifted back to the three when he spied on them to overhear their conversation before they even went to the first meeting place. [Leave her for me.]

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

With the night sky above them they traversed the steady dirt road while Duke carried two large duffel bags in his hands and Eddie carried one over his shoulder, “Man...even after carrying all this lien I still can’t believe I’m not dreaming.”

Duke- “Believe it Eddie, with this your debts are cleared and we sure as hell don’t have to worry about getting a place with all the money left over.”

Lina- “What do you think he’s like?”

Eddie- “Sheesh, are you that eager to sleep with him? You’ve been talking about him the whole way.”

Duke- “Something still on your mind about him Lina?”

Lina- “I don’t know...I keep repeating his voice in my head and it somehow sounds strangely familiar to someone I heard about.”

Duke & Eddie- “Who?”

Lina- “You guys remember about that criminal in Vale...Roman Torchwick?”

Eddie- “What you think Soldier is that psychopath? No way, you saw the news they found that crazy bastard’s charred body in the explosion.”

Lina- “Sigh..you’re probably right...just wished Jen would have contacted me already.”

Duke stopped and turned to look at her, “Jen? Why would she?”

Lina- “Well I asked her to scout the place Southpaw, hopefully to tell us beforehand who Soldier was but she hasn’t sent anything yet. What’s wrong?”

Feeling a sense of dread come over him for some reason he couldn’t even explain to himself but...“Nothing...come on it should be up ahead.”

Pressing onwards with the darkness following behind them until they reached a rather shabby building but they could tell it was the Southpaw with the broken sign and noticed the exterior looking something like a gym. Lightly pressing the doors for it to open with a squeaky noise before they entered to see broken and rusted lockers. As they continued they could hear the sounds of tapping but when they closer to the door it started to sound more clear like someone was punching something. They looked at each other as they took a deep breath before pushing the doors open.

The lights were dim but they could see the entire room to see it was nearly filled with men and women whose prison tattoos showed off their history and the only ones who really stood out were two standing near where the light was brightest. They recognized Jax but they didn’t recognize the black haired woman whose red eyes nearly glowed in the night...except their presence paled when the trio looked towards the one under the spotlight.

They only wore black and white boxing shorts with bandage wrap around his feet and around his entire left arm as his orange hair sparked alarms in both Duke and Lina while Eddie was just paying attention that he was vigorously beating a punching bag. Duke noticed Lina looking around quickly before she was furiously typing on her scroll.

“Whew...something wrong dear?”, his voice was strange as it seemed to send a chill down their spines until they could finally see his face as he was wiping the sweat off himself with a towel provided by the black haired woman. “It looks like you’re trying to message someone, are you worried about something?”

Without an answer he continued when Jax gave him a knife, “Tell me, would that something be short, cute, and with blue hair?”, stabbing the punching bag for them to hear a feminine squeal as he pulled the knife down for sand to come out first before a young nude blue haired girl with bruises over her body fell out.

“Jen!”, Lina tried to rush to her but Duke stopped her which made him drop the bags.

Roman tossed the knife back to Jax as he walked toward the girl to kneel down and lightly touch her face which made her curl up in fear, “Ah, you know how it is with rats. No matter how much you try they just don’t give up.”

Duke grabbed the bags and took the one from Eddie to toss them over to where they were, “There's your split Warden....I’ll even come back with my share if you let her go.”

“Oh why so serious? It’s not like shes a hostage. Jen here has been enjoying our company since she chose to come early, haven’t you?”, and through her tear filled murmuring they could see her nod slowly.

Snapping his fingers for one big man who appeared to be a faunus with his horns came to pick up the three bags and check them before giving a confirming nod to Roman to see his smile when he stepped away from Jen. Gesturing them to go which Lina rushed to make sure she was okay while Duke and Eddie stood close by keeping an eye on everyone. “Relax, nothing's gonna happen to you guys since Jen already paid your price in full. Oh, and she’s only naked because I thought she’d be sick leaving her in wet clothes, but rest assured that no one raped her while she was in my care.”

Duke- “...what price did we have to pay?”

Roman- “The price of trying to know me. But enough about that, how does it feel finally being rich and free from the usual bullshit of poverty?”

“Duke- “Cut the shit, what is it you really want?”

Roman- “Straight-forward, I’m starting to like you more Muscles. What I want is very simple, information. That’s all I want and that’s all I need, stay on my payroll and I’ll make sure your lives keep going without missing a beat.”

Duke cautiously looked around to notice Jax gripping the knife while the black haired woman cracked her neck, “And...if we refuse?”

Reaching inside his pockets to pull out his pack to light a smoke as his smirk told Duke their fate was sealed, “Do you really wanna find out?”


	33. Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Opening his eyes to awake in utter darkness, as he pushed himself to stand up he noticed he standing on nothing yet it still felt like solid ground. The only thing he could see was own body as he was dressed in a white vest and white slacks while his bandage around his left arm was black, “This is a dream isn’t it?”

Talking to himself for his voice to echo into the eternal darkness before looking at his hand to turn it over to stare at his palm for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter to appear which made him slightly relieved. Taking the second to light a smoke before he felt more calm even though he didn’t really understand why he felt so...anxious. He turned to finally notice the white door but he sighed as he slowly recognized the markings on it, “Great...”

Turning the knob to enter the white light that enveloped him before it dissipated for him to see what he wish he wouldn’t remember, his old room. Seeing his younger child self on the bed cleaning a gun before Roman sat next to him even though they didn’t even react to his presence. Smoking peacefully until he heard the sound of pounding to which the kid appeared shocked and went to hide the gun under the desk as Roman heard, “Open this door right now you little shit!”

The pounding got louder with every hit before the kid finally opened the door, to which they received a slap the second it was opened by who Roman recognized was Ryan Torchwick, his father. “You think you can go out and spend my money on food you little fuck? Who do you think has to put up with your shit?!”

“It’s cause we never have food in this place because you keep gambling for that lady!”, receiving a kick to the stomach which knocked the kid down before his father got down to wrap his hand around his throat to scream and beat him. Roman, watched silently while smoking and seeming unmoved as he relived a painful memory until he tapped his cigarette for the ashes to fall.

The second it touch the floor the ashes ignited a massive spark for a fire to engulf the room before some of it cleared for him to notice he was sat on the living room couch. His father and that woman were bleeding out on the ground as he could hear his younger self running around pouring or tossing the liquor to cover the floor. Roman got up to walk towards the front door as his kid self aimed the pistol at the wet ground for time to suddenly freeze.

Opening the door to enter another bright light until he got his vision back, finding himself standing at a pier looking out to an ocean. Judging from the sky it was a few hours after midnight, close to an early morning before he remembered this memory as he headed to the one bench at the center of the pier. Finishing his first smoke to toss it away before he lit another smoke as he heard a loud car crash behind him along with several sounds of gunfire before it slowly became silent except for light dragging footsteps.

A slightly older child Roman came limping while covering his bullet wounds even though his clothes were torn and he was bleeding profusely when he slipped on his own blood to crash on the ground. Dragging himself across the ground until he pulled himself to get on the bench as he was breathing heavily the entire time and it seemed to get harder to do each breath. They pulled out an old dented scroll that was now bloody in his hand before he stared deeply at the screen...until he gripped the scroll and tossed it away for it to smash on the ground.

While the child was quietly cursing under his breath Roman glanced at the cracked scroll as he remembered it was his old scroll that had his father’s and Nina’s number as the only contacts because his father got paranoid that Roman would betray him if he stayed in contact with others. He stood up and so did the child but he let the child limp forward first for a few seconds before he followed his lead as he was limping towards the down the pier until he reached the end. They struggled for a second to kneel down before they could hang their legs off the end of the wooden pier when they slowly reached for their pocket to take out a pack of smokes but his hand was so shaky that he dropped it into the water. “Fuck....”

Roman smoked quietly while looking out towards the ocean even though his child self fell backwards as he was coughing up blood and looking up towards the night sky, “Tch...Why am I remembering this crap?”, feeling nothing for himself slowly slipping away next to him until he heard the sound of another car that he knew was occupied with his oldest partner. He thought it was strange that everything seemed to go on without any sound as Junior and another gangster came to find his young self but he remembered that he couldn’t really hear at the time either. Roman watched them pick him up to start carrying him back to their car before time suddenly froze just like last time, except he felt the shining light come from behind him.

Raising a hand to block as the shining light was coming down on him from the moon high in the sky until it moved away from him towards the water which he looked down to see a perfect circle of radiant white light. “Only way is down the rabbit hole huh?”, jumping off into the white light for him to float for a few seconds before he hit solid ground to land on his feet even though it was all still a completely white world.

Thinking about what happened back at his home he tried using his lighter but even with a spark nothing happened. “If there's only light...then I want darkness.”, hearing a clunk to turn and see his modified aviators on the ground. Picking them up to first look ahead of him to still see only white until he put them on for the world to darken and finally take shape. With a quick look around he found himself at the end of a hall and in front of him was a large cell as the stench of blood and viscera leaked from it. Inside was a blood drenched Roman who sat with clear white eyes staring at the ground even though he remembered he couldn’t see in the first place.

Hearing footsteps to see the female officer he recognized as Jenny slowly come walking towards the cell with a bucket of water and a towel. “Here Roman”, opening the cell to place the bucket of water and the towel down even though he didn’t move. “I told you I can’t see so take back whatever it is you brought Jenny...and get away from me.”

Looking at him with somber eyes as she left them before leaving and locking the cell, “...We’ve known each other for awhile Roman, and while I don’t agree with the choices you made I know for sure you wouldn’t do something like this or that fake psychotic outburst for no reason....why can’t you tell me the reason why you did it?”

“I didn’t need a reason. I felt like killing them all, simple as that.”

“The you I know wouldn’t do something this stupid and insane just on a feeling.”

“Then you’ll be pleasantly surprised the day I get out of here to gut your fiance like a pig and bleed you dry because I’ll feel like it if you don’t get the hell out of here and disappear.”, his words were cold but she felt they wasn’t any weight to them as she turned and started to walk down the hall.

Smoking for his smell to mix with the smell of blood which he was surprised how much it seemed normal to him, “Are you satisfied?” looking up towards his bloody self before he looked around to make sure there was no one else.

“Yes I’m talking to you.”

Feeling it be a bit strange but it made him remember when he talked his young self and teenage self that night, “Since you’re me be more specific, what should I be satisfied with?”

“With the skeletons filling your closet....” hearing the clattering of bones coming from the closed rooms on his sides, “....the blood staining your hands....” hearing a drip to notice his blood drenched hands, “....and the bodies locked to the chains at your ankles....” feeling a tight sensation around his ankles to notice the chains before glancing over his shoulder to see numerous figures filling the hallway but what made them disturbing was that they were all faceless.... “Are you satisfied after everything you’ve done to keep going?”

Even with a strange feeling in his gut he still put up a front with his smirk, “Of course I am.”

“Hahaha!....You don’t need to lie to me.”

“You really think I’m lying?”

“I know you are, the fact that I exist is proof that you’re lying. And as long as I exist your fears, your terrors, your regrets, and your eternal wish to escape will always remain. You can't get over what you’ve done and there's nothing you can do to deal with it except be a coward and run.”

Feeling a chill creep around his shoulders as while he never showed it he was feeling uneasy as memories of his misdeeds were piling up in his thoughts in an instant....“...Well as much as I love hearing my own voice with a sinister tone, I wanna get outta here. Mind showing me the way?”

The bloody younger Roman snapped both of his fingers for him to hear the sound of a door opening before he turned to see past the faceless beings was the radiant white door shining a power light, “Can always count on myself to have a way out.”

The faceless beings merely stepped aside to grant a path as Roman headed for the door without stopping and just listened, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be waiting here until the day you decide it’s not worth it. And when that time comes you don’t have to worry about a thing, I’ll take care of everything for you...haha....HahaHa...HAHAHAHA!”, the hallway seemed longer than normal and the laugh grew louder even though he kept moving away as it quickly got more distorted before sounding like the devil was laughing at him.

That is until he reached the shining door the laughter came to a stop, in fact it was dead silent as he had his hand on the doorknob. Though all he could feel at that point was piercing stares which compelled him to glance over his shoulder to see the beings, except this time they had their faces and they were either bloody or looked like they should be dead with the limbs they were missing or the injuries that the blood was seeping out from.

Keeping his front strong though he could feel his hand on the doorknob was shaking as they stared him down...until he turned away and opened the door for the imposing presence to suddenly disappear. Looking back for the hallway to be clear of the beings with only seeing the bloody Roman at the end of the hall locked in his cell when he finally looked up for his white eyes to turn a crimson red, “Have fun Roman, I’ll see you soon my dear friend.”

Turning away from the chilling smile as the radiant white light enveloped him to blind his vision for a few seconds until he found himself in the same darkness from the very beginning, except there was a large wooden table who sat three familiar figures. On the left was kid Roman playing on a scroll, his right was teen Roman with his arms crossed and....in the middle was the Grim Reaper sipping what smelled like green tea.

“Have to admit, not the strangest bunch I’ve seen together but good to know some of my sanity is intact,” walking over to pull out a chair for him to sit which kid Roman tapped the table for a kettle and more teacups to appear before he poured one out for him.

T-Roman- “You met Despair?”

He took the cup to take a sip which gave him a warm feeling, “If he’s called Despair then what about you two?”

Pointing to himself, “I’m Logic, shorty over there is Morals.”

K-Roman(Morals)- “You still haven’t told me why we can’t work together because we have different names.”

T-Roman(Logic)- “That’s exactly why, if you can’t figure it out for yourself then you don’t deserve to know dumbass.”, looking sadden due to his aggressive counter which made Morals look towards Roman who sighed.

Roman- “Is it morally wrong to kill a person?”

Morals- “Yes.”

Roman- “Is it logical to kill that person if they were a bank robber about to kill twenty hostages?”

Morals- “.....Yes?”

Roman- “Then is it logical to kill a bank robber about to rob a bank and kill innocent people even though it’s morally wrong to kill him and leave his two dying children who are the reason he’s robbing a bank because he can’t pay the hospital to keep them alive?”

Morals- “Oh...um....”, seeing his face told him he was thinking about it and likely trying to find some good ending out of it but he figured he wouldn’t find one. “Not so easy is it? Personal morality and simple logic usually clash with one another because doing the right thing is not always the logical thing and vice versa.”

Logic- “Tch...you spoil the idiot.”

Roman- “And I’m more of a douchebag than I thought. Lose the attitude, it’s illogical to be so aggressive.”, hearing him click his tongue as he turned away from them. “So anybody wanna tell me why D is here?”

Pointing to the Grim Reaper who didn’t make a move since Roman sat at the table and seemed more like a statue. “It’s cause you were going crazy and seeing him that he became a notable figure since his influence on you pushed you to the edge....or might be because you were treading on death’s door after the invasion. Either way he doesn’t respond or do anything except sit here at this table.”

Even though the imposing chill that he got from back then wasn’t there he still left something was off about the Grim Reaper....but then he remembered so far there's been nothing right or normal with this dream, “Well...I’ve had enough of living a scary movie for one dream, you guys mind letting me wake up?”

Hearing a click to look down in front of him where the teacup was but now was replaced with a white magnum. He picked it up to take out the magazine to see it was filled before putting it back and pulled the slide back, “You can’t be serious.”

Logic- “Because of what happened with the invasion, Despair’s influence has overtaken ours so he makes the rules. The only way for us to sleep and for you to get out of here is shooting yourself in the head. It’s really the only good thing about him showing up since I get to shoot Morals because he's too much of a wuss to pull the trigger.”

Sighing as he looked at it, “My dream or not...” to pressing the magnum to the side of his head, “..This place is just fucked up.”, before closing his eyes and pulling the trigger.

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Slowly blinking his eyes to first see a concerned looking Neo looking at him with worry which he could only smile as she signed, _Had a nightmare?_

“Yeah, but already feeling better after seeing you.”, moving his arm to touch her cheek when he realised he touched her with his burned left arm and about to pull away but she gently took his hand to rest it on her cheek. _It’s okay, I don’t mind._

“Heh, always so sweet even this early huh?”  pulling her close enough to kiss her lips which warmed him up considerably after his rather awful nightmare. Picking himself up to sit upright on his bed before cracking his neck as he looked around his room which Trig called the captain’s quarters. It more or less resemble his old apartment room with most of the room being clean and tidy while his desk and his workbench was cluttered, not to mention he had Trig tear out the bathroom and shower so he could use it to set up a study to read his more....informative instruction books. “What time is it?”

Using her fingers to tell him, _Seven thirty in the morning._

“The girls up?”

Shaking her head, _You went to sleep once you came home and I asked Gale to go with Jax to check on Melanie and Miltia but they brought them back both drunk asleep._

“Hah...they’ve been hitting the bottle a little too hard without Junior to stop them. Well hopefully a few more bad hangovers will burn them out.” stepping over to grab the towel off the chair at his desk along with shorts and black slacks. “I’m gonna take a shower, you mind bringing my bandages to the kitchen?”

_Sure._

Leaving his quarters first to go down right as he entered the narrow corridor which resembled the ones he seen when he was on the Atlas flagship. Once he reached the showers he headed for one stall since all the showers were stalls because the ship was meant to house nearly twenty people on a regular basis.

After a relatively quick but cold shower to really wake him up did he turn the knob for the water to stop as he turned and opened his stall to be met with crimson red eyes that were too similar if not identical to Despair’s...that is until he looked a bit lower to look away from the eyes to see a slender female build with ample breasts wrapped in a towel before looking back up to see it was the woman he knew as Erina, “Ah...Good morning Erina, I didn’t realise you came to shower.”

She was slightly shorter so she was looking up to him as she stepped a foot closer, “I was already here when you came but decided to wait for you to finish first.”

While she was in front of him he tried his best to avoid looking at her eyes because it still made him uneasy with how easy it reminded him of the chilling feeling, “Heh, is there something wrong Erina?”

“...Somethings bothering you Warden.”

“Now why would you say that?”

“Because you either can’t or won’t look at me.”

“Well....you should know a bit about me by now Erina. It’s difficult to look at you without wanting you, especially when I’m naked you know?”

“You didn’t bat an eye when you saw me naked or any of the other ex-prisoners when we cleaned ourselves up with buckets of water at the camp.....Did you have a nightmare?”

“For your personal chastity, could you please hand me my pants and go get dressed? It truly is hard to talk with a beauty in only a wet towel..”, pointing to her right hand as she holding up his shorts and pants looking like she was already going to give to him.

Looking her in the eyes this time as he tried to brandish a bright smile even though he personally could feel his own mask breaking as she stared at him....“...Okay, can I talk to you about something this afternoon?”

“Pants, and get dressed first.”, extending his hand for her to hand him his pants before she stepped to the side where he could see a black wolf tail just above her crack until she was out of view. He waited until he heard a stall open and close before he dried himself and put on his shorts and pants.

Stepping out of the stall to leave the wet towel on the stall door when he checked his pockets to find his lighter and pack of cigarettes. Lighting one for himself when he heard the sound of footsteps to glance and see Erina fully dressed in red jeans, a tight black tank top and a short red denim jacket. He exited the showers and still felt her eyes on his back so he tried talking to help him get it off his mind, “The thing you wanted to talk to me about, does it have to do with what I’ve been hearing about aggressive racism around the camps?”

“You’ve heard?”

“Did you forget who I am?”

“I haven’t Warden, and I wouldn’t bring this up to you if it wasn’t getting any worse. Also....I don’t mean to pry but does it still hurt?”, noticing she was looking towards his charred left arm. “Don’t even feel it anymore.”

Turning right for the door to slide open revealing the ship’s kitchen where Jax was pouring coffee into several cups but Roman noticed his bandages were there but Neo wasn’t, though Jax was quick to answer, “She went to go get changed and wake up the twins Warden.”

Putting two cups of steaming coffee at the table for Roman and Erina to sit in chairs so he could start sipping the coffee but still felt Erina’s stare. “Could you stop staring at me for at least five minutes Erina?”

“Isn’t it a wolf’s duty to watch and protect their Master?”

“Since when did I need protecting and when did we have this kind of relationship?”

As Jax was finishing pouring five more coffee cups to place on a tray before bringing it to the table and taking one for himself, “The Twins mentioned during one of their drunken party nights that you were reckless to the point of making suicidal decisions.”

Erina- “And Ms. Neo told us to keep an eye on you if either her or Gale are not with you during your work, and to answer our relationship...you more or less own us whether you see it that way or not.”

Roman- “So you plan to sleep on my bed like a dog does?”

Erina- “Do you want me to?”

Roman- “As tempting as that is, no. Jax, did you wire their places?”

Jax- “The three from yesterday? We’ve wired their homes and tapped into their scrolls, Sin has already put them along with the others so we’ll know everything they do like the rest.”

Roman- “What’s your schedule for today?”

Jax- “Six pick ups, five drop offs and I’m meeting an arms dealer to get hardware to replace what was lost from the last job.”

Suddenly they heard loud voices coming from outside the ship, “I got it”, to which Jax downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp before walking around the table to exit the room. When Gale came strolling in past him as she was rubbing her eyes, “Morning...”

Trying to sip more of his coffee but nearly stumbled when he felt Gale slump against his back, “Will you wake up already?”, leaning to the left side for her to slump onto the edge of the table for he and Erina to hear her snoring already. “God, how is this girl even still alive?”

Erina rubbed her head for Roman to see her smile even though she was still sleeping, “She lives for those she cares for, even if the one she cares for doesn’t want to show the same care.”

Giving Erina a look as her expression helped to take away the chill when he looked at her eyes, “You know you’re one of the few people I can’t read, I’m still wondering why you so faithfully follow me.”

“You question me but not Jax?”

“I already know why Jax follows me.”, finishing his coffee before he picked up his bandages to start wrapping his arm when Erina got out of her chair to walk around and helped him so he didn’t have to hold it by biting it. “Then what is the reason Jax stands by your side Warden?”

As they were finishing wrapping his arm to where she wrapped his fingers, “You wanna know? Ask Jax himself then.”, taking his hand away from her as she simply nodded when she turned at the sound of the sliding door. “Morning Ms. Neo and Misses Malachite.”

Neo came dressed in her usual attire while the twins came mildly dressed in their tank tops and shorts while looking like they were suffering from headaches when they slowly and unsteadily made their way to sit at the table. “I told you two to stop drinking so much.”

Melanie- “Ah....not so loud...”

Miltia- “You drink more than we do Roman...”

Pushing two of the coffee cups towards them for both to have enough of their reflexes to grab it before it slid off the table, “Unlike you two I’ve been drinking for years, take some medicine and take a shower. You still got work to do.”

Both groan loudly before they slumped their heads on the table which made him hear some giggling to notice Neo and Erina were the cause as they looked at the twins. Though his attention was taken away by the commotion of voices. “Sounds like trouble is still brewing.”

Getting up as he lit another smoke, “Drink the coffee you two.”, to leave the room with Erina and Neo following behind him. Going down the corridor until they exited to the back of the ship where the bay door was already down to let them walk off the ship.

As they stepped off the ship to see themselves in a large camp with the tents, campfires and his people either just waking up or moving towards the commotion. “Screw you, what makes you think you can order me?!”

Passing a metal table to grab the pistol on it and hid it behind his back, “Shut your mouth and do what you’re told bitch! You’re just a filthy half-breed!”

Hearing the voices as he saw the crowd when it suddenly broke as he heard a struggle to see a  large man choking a young girl whose wings clearly showed her race. “Get off now!”, hearing Jax’s voice to see him punch the man before he pulled him off the girl and started punching him while he was down.

“Enough.”, though he didn’t yell it seemed to echo throughout the crowd as they backed away and gave him the room to walk over as Jax got off the man with his bloody hand from giving him a broken nose. Glancing over to the winged girl who was being comforted by two other girls with wings.

Roman walked over to the man who wiping blood from his nose, “Connor right? Need a hand?”, reaching out his left hand for the man to take to pull him to his feet, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good Warden.”, with a bright smile for all to see and only Jax to look away, “That’s too bad.”, pulling out the pistol to shoot twice in both of knees for the man to cry out in pain as he collapsed to the floor.

“Connor, Connor, this is what? The third time you’ve started a fight? And all only with faunus no less; tell me, what do you think about the faunus?”

Still writhing from his bleeding knees but he could see Roman’s impatience, “T-these fucking animals are below us! You treat them like dirt too Warden! You should understand!”

Smoking for a second as he checked the magazine of the pistol to see how many bullets were left, “No I don’t Connor, because I treat everyone like dirt in the first place and it doesn’t matter if you’re human or faunus you’re still trash to my eyes all the same.”

“But I understand you’re free to dislike what you wish, so I’m gonna ask this once. Is there anyone else here who shares dear Connor’s views? There is no danger, this is just to better my planning for the future.”

Roman already knew from reading various files who the faunus haters were and as he expected most of the crowd didn’t move...until two men who had similar tattoos to Connor had stepped forward. “Hoho, would you look at that Connor? You’ve got some allies on your side.”

Before Roman raised his gun and killed both of them with one shot to the head for their cold bodies to hit the ground with a thud. “Whoops, now you don’t. Sucks to be weak and worthless isn’t?”

“I-i won’t cause anymore problems Warden...just give me a chance.”, handing the gun to Jax as he stepped towards Connor to stomp on his right hand for them to hear a loud crack as he screamed in pain.

“Tell you what, since I’m such a forgiving man I’ll give a chance. You have three hours to dig two graves for that trash there, but if you don’t you’re gonna join them.”, stepping off his broken hand for them to grip it.

“H-how am I gonna dig two graves with no legs and one hand?!”

Squating in front of them to blow smoke in their face for them to start coughing, “That’s not my problem now is it?”, pulling out his scroll, “Better get started, you only got one hundred seventy eight minutes and twenty seconds left Connor.”

Standing up, “Danny.” calling out a name for a man to push people aside as he stepped forward with his bull horns prominently showing on the sides of his head. “Make sure he does it, if not you know what to do. And if anyone tries to help him, they go in the same graves.”

They nodded after he grabbed a shovel to toss it towards Connor before he went to pick up the two bodies and the rest watched as Connor used the shovel to help him drag himself with Danny following beside him.

Though now Roman could clearly hear the murmurs of the crowd saying that he favored the faunus or he favored women so they wouldn’t get punished which made him sigh. Looking towards the winged girl to walk over, “You hurt Angel?”

Looking embarrassed due to his smile as she shook her head, “N-no Warden, that jerk isn’t strong enough to hurt me anyway...”, extending a hand to pull her to her feet even though she didn’t notice her two winged friends had stepped away from her.

“That’s good...but if I remember correctly....this is your sixth time getting in trouble isn’t it?

“S-sorry Warden...I’m not very good with men.”

“That certainly shows seeing as all six incidents involve you and another man huh?”, responding with silence as she came to the realisation as her friends did that Roman’s smile wasn’t bright or warm but it chilled her to the bone when he grabbed her neck to lift her up then slam her down on the table.

“I don’t know if you’re a Trick or just a fucking idiot, but what I do now is that when people like you cause problems you stop the flow of work and I lose people.”, his grip around her tighten as she struggled and they could see her wings moving as if trying to escape.

“I-I’m...sorry Warden....”

Slamming her on the table again to see a speck of blood on the table, “Quit saying sorry, cause I’m gonna give you one last chance like little ol Connor. The two pieces of trash I just offed, you’ve got until midnight to finish their jobs, if you don’t finish in time you’re girlfriends over there are gonna pay the price until you do. Now if the worst scenario happens and you can't finish their jobs by daybreak I’m gonna clip your wings and cut your tongue out before sending you to a special place where they specialize in dismemberment and sodomy for your bony little ass. Understand?”

She still struggled to breath as his grip prevented her from speaking and he slammed her on the table again, “I said do you understand me?!”, to which she vigorously nodded and he finally let go to collapse and gasp for air on the floor as they could see a deep hand mark around her neck.

“What are the rest of you looking at? Get ready for work and head out.” addressing the crowd for it to quickly disperse as the two winged girls rush to help Angel up while she was still coughing to take her into a tent which left Roman standing with Neo and Erina before Jax came after cleaning off the blood.

Jax- “Sorry you had to get involved Warden.”

Erina- “He was bound to get involved, the fact that he just did and in such a way should hold the incidents from happening at least for awhile.”

Neo- _You okay Roman?_

Taking out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood off his legs, “I’d rather sleep some more but my gut is telling me that’s not a good idea. Any work to do today Erina?”

Erina- “We had twenty business calls yesterday, which Sin is sorting through by time frames and determining the costs and profits of each one. There’s two smugglers from Atlas and one from Vacuo that wanted to set up a connection with us and currently the only big jobs we have today is five location based Grimm exterminations. Need some exercise?”

Smoking as he looked around at the tents with people coming in and out to either get washed, eat breakfast or talk to someone...it made him think of the Syndicate and wondered if it would be like this if he did take Sol’s place then but...“Everyone always dreams of being at the top, the pay is nice and the position that makes people fear or respect you cause the power you wield is even better. Yet...it’s so boring since it’s expected for you to just use others to do things for you; no adrenaline, no tension, it’s all just so boring.”

Jax & Erina- “Warden?”

“Get the trucks and lets go hunting.”

\-----------------

“Hold still.”, waiting for the truck to come to a slow stop with them being at the edge of the open field when ahead he saw a herd of Ursas and Beowolfs. He looked to his left and his right to count over a dozen trucks with several of his people in each one before he unfolded the bipod as he set up on the top of the truck.

Fixing the scope on red when he zoomed in on the Ursa that seemed to be at the center of the herd to line up his shot and kept his finger ready on the trigger. Taking his hand off the top of the barrel to touch the earpiece in his left ear for it to turn on, [Most kills gets double the pay, weapons free.]

Pulling the trigger for the sniper rifle’s bullet to send an explosive sound following the bullet’s flight before it hit the Ursa square in the neck for it to to be blown back for a second when it exploded to nothing which set everything off. “Lets go!”

Tapping the top for Erina who was driving with Neo as her passenger to step on the pedal as the other trucks followed suit and headed for the herd who half charged at them while the others were still stunned from the explosion. Pushing the scope to the side of his rifle to aim with the iron sight when a Beowolf jumped in front for his bullet to send it flying back before exploding into a black mist.

Taking a few more precision shots as Erina’s driving put them only meters next to the Grimm before Roman gun them down when he heard in his earpiece, [Warden, we got Nevermores!]

Looking away as his men were fighting the Grimm to see one Nevermore high above when he heard a screech to see a second one coming from a different direction, [Split up now!]

The trucks broke away from the herd as one Nevermore flew down and was able to knock over one of the trucks with its talons which sent the ones in the back flying before they got attacked by the Ursas. [Rook 1 pick up Knight 3’s remains. Bishop 1 and 2 set up the hooks.]

[We’re on it.]

Erina- “We’re not getting paid for the Nevermores Warden.”

Roman- “Good thing the Arena always takes fresh meat, no matter how big it is.”, turning around when he heard a roar to see three beowolves behind them. “Hard right.”, listening to his orders to steer right which he had to hold on to the side to stay in the truck before he lined up the shot because the three were too slow to turn for the bullet to pierce the first two then explode on the third.

Erina- “Outta the truck!”

Turning his eyes forward due to Erina’s yell to see the Nevermore coming right at them before he jumped out of the back of the truck, once he landed he watched Erina and Neo jumped out of the truck before the Nevermore’s talons flipped the truck over after just lifting the front.

“Neo! Erina!”, seeing the two come from the grass before Neo reacted to hitting an Ursa away before it attacked Erina but his view was taken away as the Nevermore landed right in front of him.

Staring at its black body before looking up to its head for it to lower its head as it stared at him with it’s glowing red eyes. He responded with his usual smirk, “You know you’re gonna pay for that truck right?”

Responding with a piercing screech as it raised its left wing about to strike him when a harpoon pierced it’s wing before it expanded to four metal stakes as it was pulled back to pull the Nevermore away from Roman. It tried to pull its wing when it turned its head to see one of the trucks with some launcher on it had fired the harpoon so it swung its right wing at him.

Ducking when he saw past the Nevermore was the second truck trying to take a shot at the other wing, so he aimed  at one its legs for the bullet to explode on contact causing it to fumble while extending out its right wing.

The second truck fired it’s harpoon to pierce the second wing before both trucks drove to pull the Nevermore back but a piercing cry reminded him of the second Nevermore that picked up one of the trucks to toss it towards a different one. But his attention was also taken from seeing off in the distance some Beowolves and Ursas were getting away [Knight 2 and Rook 4, hunt down the stragglers on the run. Everyone else, shoot that damn thing out of the sky!]

Seeing two trucks race off chasing after the fleeing Grimm while the trucks kept the first Nevermore down and the rest lit up the sky with gunfire and explosions trying to take down the second one.

Figuring they had the Nevermore he took the second to take out a pack to put one smoke between his lips when he felt the ground tremble to make him jump forward to land a few feet away from where he was once was. Turning to see an Ursa crush the ground before him with its massive arms, “Whew, one of your brothers already got me once and it ain’t happening again.”

Aiming his sniper rifle at it’s head before pulling the trigger but the explosion didn't happen...at least didn’t happen in front of me but rather meters away as it exploded a tree from the forest. Turning back to look at the Ursa but beside it with a scratch mark on it’s claw was a large Armored Beowolf when it roared at him, “Just keeps getting better.”

Attempting the same trick by firing at the ground in front of him for the dirt smoke to cover him but before he could turn to make the distance the Armored Beowulf jumped through and struck which he blocked by putting up his sniper rifle.

Except he knew he couldn’t hold against with strength alone and jumped back as sparks flew from the clash with the Beowulf’s claw and his sniper rifle before he fired directly at its chest which caused the recoil to propel him further back.

Stopping himself by planting his feet on the ground to see the explosive barely put a dent in it’s armor when he scanned his surroundings to see the trucks still trying to shoot down the Nevermore while avoiding the Ursas and Beowolves who didn’t run. He also saw Neo finishing off a Beowolf with the blade from her parasol while Erina was using bladed tonfas to fight off two Ursas, though his eyes noticed a glimmer to recognize his weapon’s case next to the wrecked truck.

Firing another shot at the Beowolf for it to raise its armored claws to block but engulf it in the explosive smoke which Roman used as the moment to turn and run for his case. Gunfire drowned out the sound of its roars but he still felt the tremble of the ground under his feet knowing the Grimm was on his tail when he reached for his case.

Opening it to reach for the golden shotgun when a hand of darkness grabbed his wrist, _Why even try...._ , hearing the chilling voice as the grip around his wrist tightened for him to glance up to look at what should have been the inside of his weapon case but there he was.

Despair’s distorted face but crimson red eyes shined like the Grimm as he got in Roman’s face... _When you know you’re gonna die!!!,_ screaming at him with his demonic voice which stunned Roman as he locked eyes with his innermost demon.

“Warden!”, hearing Erina’s voice broke his sudden trance as he shook his head to see Despair disappear but heard the roar right behind him. Turning quickly to aim the shotgun as it opened it’s mouth about to snap and take his arm but he pulled the trigger fast enough for the Armored Beowolf to explode into a black mist like the others.

_You’re smarter than this, quit fooling yourself,_ hearing the voice again but this time he saw Despair in his shadowy form walking towards him with a sinister smile that chilled his spine. But instead of backing away he walked towards him with the shotgun raised as he fired to send a hole through the shadow for it to restore almost instantly. _Look how low you’ve fallen, it's pathetic._

Suddenly Despair stopped moving but Roman kept getting closer as he continued to keep firing with his golden pump action shotgun to the point that he could only hear the sound of his shots and the sound of when the cartridges popped out the side. Finally noticing that shooting the body wasn’t working he aimed for the legs and was surprised that they didn’t restore like the rest as he was only inches away from Despair as he aimed the shotgun at his head. _No matter how hard you try, there's only ending for you Roman. HaHAHahAhA!_

Feeling only anger with every second of laughter ringing in his head but his finger was frozen by the demonic laughter and so did his body freeze along with it...until he felt a warm hand on his frozen right hand.

The laughter disappeared along with the chilled feeling when he recognized the hand. Closing his eyes for a few seconds as he turned to open them up and see a worried Neo. As she took her hand off his did he look back to see in front of him was no longer Despair but an Ursa whose expression showed that it was in pain.

His finger still tight on the trigger....except he never pulled and fell back to land on the ground. _Roman! What’s wrong?_

But he didn’t respond and simply tried to light his cigarette as quickly as possible without showing that he was still shaking. Quietly smoking while staring at the ground as he felt the burning sensation in his left arm and tried to ignore it even though his shaking was more visible with his right arm.

Neo wrapped her arms around him for his shaking to slowly but steadily come to a stop. She couldn’t say it but she kept moving her lips saying, _It's okay,_ thinking there was nothing else she could do except comfort him. They stayed this way for a few minutes before Roman finally looked up to Neo’s tearful white eyes, taking the cigarette from his lips to lean in and kiss her for the warmth he was missing to come back to him.

Finally breaking the kiss to rest his head on her neck as he pulled her in to hug her tightly, “...Thanks Neo...”

_You’re okay?_ , letting go of his hold of her as he took a deep breathe. “...I’m good enough.”

Pulling what was left of his composure together to stand up on his two feet when he heard footsteps to see Erina and could see past her that the rest were regrouping and tying down the Nevermores. “Warden, I called in two flatbeds for the Nevermores....and I called Dex and Janice to come and help me with the last extermination.”

“I’m fine, I’ve killed more of these things then the years you’ve been alive Erina.”

“That may be true but I know that something from your past is bothering you. The man standing before me may have recovered and improved his physical body, but his mind is still broken from a past I won’t pry into because it’s not my place....Besides you’ve done more than enough today even though you’re the boss, and it’s been awhile since you and Ms. Neo have had a date hasn’t it Warden? There’s a nice small village nearby having a celebration for some hunters taking care of their Grimm problem; if that's not for you there is a tavern in the village that sports gambling and sweet drinks that I think Ms. Neo would like.”

“I sai-”, feeling the warm hand around his wrist to look towards Neo, _Let’s go Roman, we can talk on the way._

Unable to say no to her face and especially after what just happened, “I’ll leave it to you then.”

Nodding before she turned to whistle towards one of the trucks for them to park near her and the driver got out to nod towards Roman then left back towards the group, “After I finish the job and sell off the Nevermores at the Arena, I’ll reunite with you with Gale and the Twins if they finished their work.”

Looking towards the setting Sun as he put the smoke back in his lips, “Hurry then, the Grimm are more dangerous at night.”

“Of course Warden.” turning away to run back towards the main group and leaving Roman with Neo as he dropped his cigarette to put it out by stepping on it. Getting in the driver seat and waited for Neo to get into the passenger before putting his aviators back on and turning on the HUD as she pulled out her scroll.

Starting the engine and driving through the forest as text appeared on the left side of his aviators while reminding him the sender was Neo, [Is what happened back there related to what happened this morning?]

“Heh...I don’t know if I should say yes because then I’m admitting I have a problem.”

[You promised you’d let me help, but I can’t help you if you can't help yourself.]

“...Do you still have the nightmares Neo?”

[...Sometimes, but it helps if I think about you.]

Feeling the chill again as he looked in the rearview mirror to see Despair sitting in the back but he was quiet and motionless, “As much as I wish thinking about you would help me...don’t know if it’ll work considering what I saw months ago.”

[Do you still see him?]

Thinking back to the Grim Reaper...he hasn’t seen or at least haven’t seen a hallucination of them while he was awake but he did see him in his dreams though...“No...I haven’t seen him but he’s worse than Mr. D.”

[Then we should hold back and try to find a way to help deal with it....what’ll happen to you if me, Gale, Melanie, Miltia, Erina or Jax aren’t there if you freeze up again?]

“I know and I’m sorry for worrying you sweetheart. But I’m not as worried about it as you...its more like I’m lost about it.”

[Why?]

“It’s been months since that hell and I’ve never had a nightmare like I did today...it’s like a bad omen.”

[Maybe...you’ve been repressing it all this time but you’ve been working pretty hard the last couple of days so you were too tired to keep repressing it?]

Finally entering the town to slow down as he lit a smoke to see people were preparing stalls, decorations and tables though down the road something caught his eye. “Looks like they’re still getting ready, mind drinking while I gamble in the meantime?”

Feeling a soft sensation on his right cheek to notice she kissed him, [If it helps, let's go.], seeing her smile before looking in the rearview mirror to see that Despair was gone so he could focus ahead.

The thing that caught his eye was a lone figure with short black hair wearing a red cloak but he didn’t know until he drove almost next to them to recognize the large metal object strapped to their lower back when he stepped on the gas to quickly gain distance from them, [What’s wrong?]

Moving his side view mirror to see that the lone figure was indeed the one who he thought it was as they turned to look towards his truck so he could easily see her face, “More trouble just showed up.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“H-hey Ruby, wait up!”

“It was him....I know it was him!”

“Who Ruby?”, finally stopping to catch his breath as Ruby stopped and turned to face Jaune. “Roman Torchwick, he was driving that truck.”

“What are you talking about Ruby? Torchwick is dead, he died in in Bullhead crash....didn’t he?”

“No....” remembering that night to touch her neck as she had a flashback to see a bloody Roman struggling to stand but had grabbed her by the neck before throwing her off the Atlas flagship, “...He’s been alive all this time.”

“Even if what you say is true and he was in that truck, why are you going after him?”

Surprised but she remembered that Ozpin...told her and her team that they were the only ones that knew Roman was on their side though she figured it wasn’t the time to tell everything, “He worked with the White Fang before remember? He might know something that’ll help us look for them once we reach Haven.”

Scratching his head as he was wrapping his mind about it, “...If we do follow and find Roman, what makes you think he’ll actually say anything to us?”

Thinking back about everything that happens months ago and about her team and..Yang...“He’ll talk...even if we have to force him to talk to us.”

“...Let me text Ren and Nora first then.”

Nodding before turning to continue going in the direction the truck went as Jaune followed while texting to the rest of their team on his scroll. As night fell with the setting sun for only lanterns set up by the villagers shined their way until they came to a stop once they saw the same truck parked next to a large building with numerous voices coming from it.

“I still don’t know about this Ruby.”

“Just a few minutes, if I was just imaging things and we don’t find him then we’ll go back to the room and leave first thing in the morning.”

Entering quietly together even though their ears were beating with the loud voices of merry men and women drinking due to the village celebration. “Uh...this may be harder than I thought.”

“Well lets split up, you take the left side and I’ll take the right side. If I see him I’ll text you then we’ll think of what to do then.”

“Roger.”

Going with divide tactic in the hopes of finding their target....Jaune did not fare well with several older women drunkenly attempting to seduce him and the men encouraging the notion that if he didn’t drink he was still just a boy. Ruby herself faced the trouble of drunken men being lecherous as more than a few reached for her butt whenever she passed by but she was able to react faster to avoid their grubby hands easily; in the end neither could find their orange haired target.

“Sigh...guess I was just seeing things.”, Ruby slumped against the counter as Jaune patted her back while they found two seats a bit away from the drunken merriment that the rest of the villagers were indulging themselves in.

“Hey, we all make mistakes Ruby. I mean look at me....”, trying to cheer her up even though after a few seconds of remembering did he feel a bit depressed. “Ah...you know what I mean.”

Checking his scroll for the time, “I’ll call Ren and Nora to meet us here then we’ll go back to the house, it’ll be nice to sleep on a bed even for only one night.”

“I’ll wait here then.”, nodding to Ruby as he started dialing as he headed for the exit. Taking out her own scroll to look through her messages but as she expected, there was no new messages from Yang, Weiss or Blake.

She nearly jumped with the sound of a thump to see the bartender put a large wooden cup in front of her as she could smell a sweet aroma from it, “Oh sorry I can’t drink.”

“It be fine lass, it’s a day to celebrate so take a swig and cheer up.”, she was going to respond but the bartender who she guessed was the owner went away to go serve more drinks before she could even speak up.

Sitting quietly as she stared at the cup, she didn’t have much experience with alcohol other than she knew her Uncle Qrow liked to drink and she knew Yang used to drink a few times when she went out on her own with her friends. Though she remembered her Dad saying it was bitter even though what she was smelling from it was far from bitter...

Looking around to see the people paying her no mind as they were going a bit crazy in their drunken states when she picked up the cup to take a small sip. Like the smell it gave off it had a sweet taste and a little bit reminded her of strawberries.

Surprised by the taste she took another sip as she turned to her left to look around when sat right a few stools from her was the multi-colored woman she recognized as Neo drinking a fancy cup with a straw as she winked at her. “My my, not even sixteen and you’re already drinking? Didn’t know you became such a naughty girl, though it looks like the past few months have been pretty good to you.”

Recognizing the voice she turned to see the orange haired thief pouring himself a drink, “Hello Red.”

Due to how sudden and close his entrance was Ruby reached behind ready to pull out Crescent Rose when Roman reached to push his hand against her elbow to stop her, “Now now, I don’t mind kinkplay Red but do you really think this is the best place to play?”

Offering her a charming smile as he waited for a few seconds until she finally released her grip on Crescent Rose so he could pull back his hand and drink his shot. “...Sorry...It was just reflex because you showed up so suddenly...”

“You sure you’re just not itching to cut me open again?”, pouring another drink as Ruby remembered that night and noticed since the zipper on his vest was down enough for her to see the large scar that she caused.

“You kept pushing me, you expected me to do something at that moment and I did.”

“That you did, too bad you couldn’t measure up to my expectations because you were afraid to kill something that wasn’t labeled a Grimm.”, after drinking another shot he reached over the counter to grab another shot glass before pouring another one for himself then poured a second one as he held it to Ruby.

“I..don’t drink."

Looking at the other cup with the sweet smell, “It’s been awhile since we’ve met without blades at each other's’ throats, so at least do me the pleasure of being able to drink with a cute girl.”, giving a quick wink.

She blushed as she looked up at his smile before she turned to look at Neo who simply waved towards her. Ruby cautiously took the drink and eyed it for a few seconds to see if there was anything wrong with it because she remembered the night she and Yang picked up their Uncle just as Roman had left the bar, “Do you distrust me that much?”

“You really haven’t done anything to earn any trust Roman.”

“Touché, would you like my drink then? You know I’m perfectly fine after already drinking from it once.”, offering his but after a few seconds of thinking she shook her head before he drunk his as she looked at his bandaged left arm.

“What happened to your arm?”

“Long boring story, but enough about me. Let’s talk about you little Red. What’s it like to be away from those you consider your loved ones?”

Clenching the glass, “I don’t know what you’re talking about..”

“Don’t you? Miss Princess stuck in her shiny castle with a fearsome dragon she knows as her father, Kitty Cat is in the wind but knowing her she's probably hunting down her special friend in the White Fang...and last but not least your fiery dragon sister. I’ll admit her chest was appealing but what made her attractive was her confidence....too bad that’s gone along with the the strength she once had huh? Because of her injuries to her arms from a certain red headed samurai she’ll never punch boulders like she use too, much less fight off a Grimm with ease either.”

“...How do you know all this?”

“Underworld is a big place Red, and it has all the information anyone can want as long as the price is paid. So realistically I can know everything about the adorable jet black haired girl from Patch who lived with her father and sister while always paying respects to the supermom that she loved so much, long as I have the resources that is.”

Staying silent while looking at her reflection in the shot glass, “Don’t you like your family?”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you I killed my father and the woman who abused me when I was young. And before you ask, I don’t even know what my mother looks like so I can safely say I have no feelings towards my deceased family.”

Drinking his to set his glass down before eying Ruby to reach and push up her glass to her lips with one finger which surprised her when she looked at him, “Drink, it’ll make this conversation a lot easier to go through.”

Pulling his hand back as she sucked it up and down the shot in one go before making a rather disgusted face, “It’s so bitter...”

“When life gets tough, this’ll be your best friend.”

Pointing to her original wooden cup for her to drink to help wash away the bitterness while he took out his pack and lighter, “Well we’ve wasted enough on idle chatter, what is it you wanted to ask me so badly that you followed me?”

Shaking her head to refocus as the bitter taste was slowly going away, “Do...do you know anything about what the White Fang are doing?”

“And what makes you think I know anything Red?”

“Because you’re you and...you’re after them too aren’t you?”

Lighting a smoke when he heard his scroll ringing to bring it out and see it was from Jax before he picked up the call and set it to speaker as he put it on the counter. [Warden?]

[What is it Jax?]

[Got a lead but it might be sketchy cause the one who told me was off his rocker when they saw it.]

Ruby listened closely after the word lead was said but she didn’t know about what yet, [High or not, what’d they say?]

[They say they saw a group wearing White Fang masks passing by their farm with some heavy machinery but the important part was one of them wore an academy uniform, and the only academy near here is-]

[Haven, good work. When you get back tell Erina if she's still at the camp to set up the meeting with the smugglers tomorrow.]

[Got it Warden.], hearing him hang up as the line disconnected while Roman looked at Ruby, “Well? There you go, I know probably as much as you do Red.”

Feeling a bit warm inside but she ignored it, “Something tells me that you’re lying....like you always do.”

“Please enlighten me dear Red, for what reason would I lie to you about not knowing anything?”, he noticed her cheeks were a bit red and wondered if it was alcohol.

“To stop us from getting involved in one your plans....or because you just hate us.”

“I couldn’t hate someone that I find joy in teasing, though I do hate your uncanny ability to show up at the worst times possible.”, noticing a spider on the counter to flip his glass over it and imprisoning it.

“Well...now that you’re on your own and we have similar goals, can’t we work together? It’ll be easier combining strengths then being on our own.”

“Ah dear Red. So naive it makes me want to show you the real world, but you’d never accepted it even if I did.”

“What do I need to accept?”

“That even if we fight for the same reasons, we’re not on the same side. You tread the light, and I roam the night.”, tipping the glass to blow smoke into it before closing it back to see the spider slowly suffocate but noticed a red glint flash on the back of the spider before it died out.

“You say that but if we stop Cinder and capture the White Fang you could clear your name.”

“So Roman Torchwick would rise from the dead and instead of being a crazy psychopath he’d instead be known as a co-conspirator to incite a war between kingdoms? Amazing choices, but if I had to choose I’d rather stay dead.”

Feeling a bit sad that her idea got shot down so quickly but after listening she understood that it’d be worse for him if he did speak about what happened, “So..what now?”

“The White Fang is all you wanted to ask me about?”

“I didn’t...really think of anything else before following you.”

“Haha...still going in without a plan and sticking to your gut. You’d make a great cop Red.”, checking the time on his scroll before he raised his right arm for Ruby to feel a rush of air over her head before seeing in his hand was a black hat with a red band. “Though I guess this little date is over.”, putting the cap on as he stepped up from his stool when Neo came over.

“Can you at least tell me if you hear anything about Blake or Weiss....I don’t think I’ll be able to find out how they're doing by myself.”, stopping himself as he thought and sighed though Neo smiled as he turned to toss a silver scroll for Ruby to fumble before catching it as she noticed the word Soldier was etched on the side of it.

“What’s this for?”

“That scroll is one of the things I give to business partners and certain informats. It only has my number and Neo’s, if I hear anything about Princess’ condition or a sighting of Kitty Cat you may be the first to know. Just don’t text me about your day or girl problems, get enough of that already on my own ship.”

“Tha..thank you Roman.”

Waving her off as he headed out the door after linking arms with Neo as he saw Jaune with Ren and Nora coming in. Though they didn’t notice the pair as they left the tavern to step outside feeling the cold night wind. _You have a soft spot for Ruby don’t you?_

“I find joy in messing with the fact that she lacks experience, though I still find you cuter.”

_She asked about her friends, how are you gonna find about them?_

“I can probably ask Junior and Trig to look into the Schnee family but Kitty Cat...the Black Market will have something on her sooner or later. For now let's just enjoy the night...”, while they were walking towards the lights at the center of the village he saw out of the corner of his eye was Despair in his bloody form leaning against a building with his arms crossed as he could see a smirk on his face.

“...While we still have time.”


	34. Smooth Getaway

Looking through a mirror to see a narrowed view of some wooden floor before it turned and climbed up the short wall to be on top of a counter as they could see inside the large room. It was filled with cheers but the view moved to the right to see an orange haired man and a young black haired girl.

The view got closer until the orange haired man trapped it with a glass cup, they could see spider legs tapping on the glass and trying to escape but they were focused on the man and girl as they couldn’t hear them talking.

They tipped the glass for an opening but it wasn’t fast enough as they blew smoke from their cigarette and blurred the view for the image to be clouded. With a quick swipe of their hand the mirror turned to normal as they assumed the spider died because the view stopped moving. “So you still stand...”

Hearing a knock at the door, “Cinder?”, recognizing the voice from Emerald, “Come in.”

Walking over to sit in a chair next to a small table where a keyboard was as the door opened to reveal the green haired girl before she entered, “Is something the matter?”

“We received a message from the White Fang’s Lieutenant saying they have a problem.”

“What exactly is the problem?”

“They’re losing people, he said it was only a few at first but it’s starting to add up and is asking for support in finding out the cause.”

Thinking back to what she saw earlier before her tool died, knowing Ruby would be after the White Fang but she was too naive to kidnap or make people disappear....unless. “It’s Torchy doing.”

Looking up to see past Emerald and see Mercury leaning against the opened door, “What are you talking about? Torchwick died in the Atlas flagship when it crashed during the invasion.”

Mercury- “Then you’re telling me everything I’ve heard when I went bar surfing to hear about a certain individual with orange hair, an everlasting smirk and a left arm wrapped in a white bandage doesn’t sound like Torchy back from the grave?”

Emerald- “The fact that you heard it from bars makes it probably the least credible information ever.”

Cinder- “Enough...Mercury what do you know?”

Emerald looking annoyed as Mercury shrugged while he entered the room, “White Fang’s missing people problem? It’s cause Torchwick has been hunting them down, he finds out about the younger or newer members and targets them for information while also going after their families or anyone directly related to them.”

Cinder- “And he has the resources to do this widespread manhunt?”

Mercury- “Rumor is he came a few months ago but it didn’t pick up until he assumed a new name as the boss of some mercenary service. I dug deeper and found out he’s been recruiting or stealing inmates from prisons. Looks like he started south and piles up resources and profits from stealing as much as he can before moving up north.”

Cinder- “And we’re certain the White Fang aren’t just exaggerating?”

Emerald stepped up, “To back up the Lieutenant’s request...he’s sent these photos.”, taking out a thin folder to hand it to Cinder for her to open. “It was just yesterday but it’s the only ones they’ve managed to find.....because it looks like they left them there to be found.”

Inside were three photos she took out and laid them out on the small table as the folder burned up in her hand. Sliding them across the table to clearly see each one; the first showed some apartment room with a blackened figure strung up with chains to the ceiling fan while under them appeared to be charred remains of a chair, the second showed a bathtub where there was one young woman’s whose neck and wrist were sliced open while the other woman in the bathtub had visible marks around her neck as she laid in a tub of blood, and lastly the third showed the burnt remains of cabin with a large shape that she assumed was a body. “The log cabin belonged to a former member and they assume he was the last to be killed before his son who was set on fire while hung and his daughter was drowned in her lover’s blood. Both of them were members for only three days.”

Cinder- “He’s certainly escalated in his methods if it is him.”

Mercury- “Cause he’s crazy....you know all about that don’t you Emmy?”, taking a shot at her and she clenched her fist for being put on the spot but felt Cinder’s gaze.

Cinder- “What does he mean Emerald?”

Emerald- “Before the attack....I followed him to a graveyard outside of the city and found him at his parents’ graves. But...he mentioned he was seeing and being followed by shadows. I thought it was just prolonged fatigue, but it could have been something more.”

Cinder- “Seeing as how he’s made it so Adam and his underlings are unable to find their missing cattle for so long, then we can assume his capabilities are still intact even if his sanity may or may not be as intact.”

Emerald- “Should we really do anything? If we just tell them they're being hunted by Torchwick they can stay together rather than be separated to prevent being picked off like the first ones.”

Mercury- “Don’t you get it Emmy? If he’s kept all the other people he’s killed hidden but left the last ones to be found it means he’s ready. Lone targets are easy and quiet, but if they find people from the White Fang in groups he’s gonna start gang wars.”

Emerald- “....Wouldn’t it be possible to just unleash the Grimm on Torchwick and his mercenaries?”

Mercury- “Did I forget to mention I saw his so called mercenaries traveling through a small town with a big tarp covering a flatbed but I caught a glimpse of the feathers of a Nevermore? If they’re willing to capture and sell Grimm I doubt sending prey to a big game hunter is a useful idea.”

Turning to confront Mercury as she was getting annoyed with the tone of his voice because it always sounded like he was talking down to her, “You got any better ideas genius?”

“Yeah. you.”, poking her shoulder to push her back.

“What?”

“He likes women doesn’t he? Plus you talked to him and you were with him more than I was; play with his heart and get on his personal side until when the time is right you kill him when he’s most vulnerable.”

“I’m sure you can use someone else for this stupid honeytrap plan Spikey.”

“Obviously Torchwick would want to kill boss lady, before or after hooking up who knows. And the girls from the White Fang would get snuffed out as moles from his mercenaries, they’re ex-prisoners so they’ll smell a rat a mile away.”

“Cinder would you please tell him this is a stupid idea?”

Glancing at the photos and remembering every interaction she had with the orange haired criminal before sliding the photos to stack together to set them ablaze as they burned to ashes. “Give me some time alone to think. I’ll call for you two again in a few hours once I’ve made a decision.”

Wanting to speak up but held it in when she met Cinder’s eyes to turn and leave first before Mercury left right after and closed the door behind him. Looking back to the mirror to swipe her hand in front of her for the mirror to rewind like a video to stop at where she could see Roman Torchwick and Ruby Rose.

“The Silver Eyed Warrior and the Homicidal Torch, such an odd but dangerous pair.”, thinking back to what happened at the tower and how Ruby Rose shown a great light that froze the dragon in place and forced her to retreat. When she thought about her dealings with Roman...they were usually interesting in nature but knowing his past paints him out as a threat to individual lives if they cross his path.

“Is something wrong Cinder?”, recognizing the voice to swipe her hand for the mirror to turn back to normal as she stood up and turned to see Salem standing at her door. “Why would you think there was something wrong?”

As she stepped in Cinder could feel cold air coming inside along with her, “You’re....companions had rather interesting expressions as I passed by them. I could only assume it involved you since they were just here not only few minutes ago.”

“It’s just...some loose ends that need to be tied.”, watching her walk around the room till she stopped to look at the mirror. Raising her hand to touch the mirror with her fingernail for the image to reveal Roman and Ruby, “Are these the loose ends?”

“They’re of no real concern to us, they were only brought to my attention due to the White Fang’s troubles.”

“Hmph. Such mortals always needing to be held like a child clinging to their mother’s breast for satisfaction....How will you deal with these loose ends?”

“I...plan to leave it to my companions. They’re more than capable of dealing with them...unless....you wish for me to handle it myself?”

Her expression showed that she was thinking as she got closer to Cinder to smile and cupped her cheek, “Nonsense, you’ve more important matters than finishing off a few roaches. If that is all there is, than instruct your underlings and let them do your bidding. It’s what they exist for isn’t it?”

Cinder felt the cold air and her touch fade away as Salem’s body blackened before disappearing into a shadow and left alone in her room.

\-----

“Don’t get why you’re so opposed to it, should be an easy job if you use your semblance on him in the first place.”

“You’re suggesting I get close to him and suggesting I get in bed with him; two things I’d slit my wrists before doing.”

“Hah, if only.”

“What’s the matter with you? Are you trying to win the asshole award for pissing me off all the time?”, finally stopping in the corridor to confront Mercury.

“I’m just trying to figure out where you’re at.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Tell me Emmy, are you really on this side? Cause it really looks like you’re not feeling it like me.”

“Unlike you I actually have a brain that doesn’t run on sheer brawn and doesn’t require me to have to stroke my imaginary dick all the time.”

“Whatever, besides aren’t you always willing to impress Cinder? Do this and you’ll be number one.”

Staring at him with suspicion, “Now why wouldn’t you want to be favored? What exactly are you hiding from Spikey?”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for my partner’s personal goals is all. You know boss lady wouldn’t mind taking on Torchy cause they’re both crazy for eachother, but take the initiative and take him out then she’ll have to appreciate you won’t she?”

Tapping her shoulder as he started walking ahead,  “Tell me when you’re ready to deal with Torchy, I know a couple of places where his goons might be and we’ll go from there.”

Watching him walk away down the corridor as she thought about the whole thing. She still trembled when she remembered seeing the sight of Vale engulf with flames while also thinking about the time Roman had took her along to visit Vale’s black market, Tartarus.

Telling herself she was no stranger to such horrific things but...hearing and knowing it exist isn’t the same as seeing it in person or knowing you were part of why such things happened. Taking a deep breath...“This is gonna suck...”, to go down the corridor and can only think of how badly Mercury was gonna make her day.

\------

“How long are we gonna wait here staring at the front of some warehouse?”

“Not like Salem gives us anything to do.....Think thats them.”, hidden in the shadows did they see across from them a flatbed covered with a tarp covering the back had pulled up to the front of some rundown warehouse.

The driver stayed while the woman who held on the side of the car door jumped off to head for the doors of the warehouse to knock on them two times. After a few seconds did the large doors begin to open as she stepped back while waving her arm for the flatbed to start moving forward when she hopped back on.

“How do we even know thats them?”

“If what’s under that tarp is what I think it is then it’s them. Come on.”, crouching down as he quickly made went first towards the flatbed and Emerald sighed as she followed after him. They were able to follow the flatbed just before the warehouse doors closed; except when they were footsteps they got under the tarp as they got on the flatbed.

Because of the tarp it was completely dark under so Emerald took out her scroll to turn it on as a light source but nearly jumped as she shined the light to see a sleeping ursa when Mercury covered her mouth before she could make a sound, “Told yah, definitely Torchy’s group.”

Dimming the light as she ripped his hand away from her mouth and scooched over a bit to be away from him when they felt they were going down, “Where the hell are we going?”

“You should know the answer already, didn’t you go on a date with Torchy back in Vale?”

Thinking about what he meant till she realised, “..You gotta be kidding..” They waited quietly until they noticed they stopped moving down and could hear the sound of the tires going along with numerous voices around them.

“We gotta get off this thing before it stops.”, lifting the tarp just enough to see the ground and noticing it was a road while seeing various legs....they waited until they saw the least amount of legs to jump off and dash towards a corner before they finally got a look while keeping an eye on the flatbed.

“Is this a city?”, noticing the buildings but when she looked up she could see they were clearly underground even though the buildings themselves were in bad shape and some looked ready to crumble.

Mercury gestured as he entered the street again to blend with the roaming crowds and Emerald followed, “If Grimm are always on land and air, where to left except underground? Though this place is probably more dangerous for you than the one in Vale.”

“How do you know that?”

“Remember Cinder told us a bit of Torchy’s story after their date to an arms dealer? Vale’s BM is known for gambling, which is why that place called Purgatory is so famous because of it. Heard Atlas has a special when it comes to drugs, junkies finding ways to mix in dust for different highs; though I don’t know much about Vacuo.”

“What about here?”, following his finger as he pointed to their left and as they passed by she could inside the building which the interior looked to be that of a cafe...but what stunned her was a young woman who was completely bare was strapped to a wide coffee table as her eyes were covered with black wrap and her mouth plugged with a ball gag while a man was penetrating her anus and whipping her back which already showed numerous bloody marks.

Horrified but was brought back when Mercury lightly punched her shoulder before he pointed towards the flatbed that was quickly moving away before they resumed their pursuit, “I’d have my hand on the trigger ready if I were you, don’t need you becoming part of this shithole either.”

Trying to shake that image out of her head as she stuck a bit closer behind Mercury until she saw the flatbed making a turn. They continued to follow for about ten minutes until it stopped at the entrance of what should have been an underground parking structure. The same woman hopped off to talk to the man at the window before he got out and followed her to the back of the flat; where she raised the tarp to reveal the Ursa who woke up to the light and attempted to bang on the cage but was shocked when they touched the bars.

Unable to hear but could see the man was thinking before he reached inside his jacket to hand the woman a key. She inspected it first then gestured to the driver to go when the man opened up the gates for even Emerald and Mercury to hear both the cheers and the roar of a beast. “Follow the girl or follow the beasts?”

“Obviously the girl, she’s going now.”, pointing out to Mercury as the woman was walking away down a different street. Leaving the corner they hid behind to follow after her and shortened the distance since they figured they’d lose her unlike the flatbed that was easy to see in crowds.

Emerald had taken the lead though she noticed the footsteps behind her had disappeared to make her look behind and notice Mercury was busy being seduced by an older woman of the night before she pulled him by his collar, “Can you focus instead of thinking of getting laid?!”

“It’s not like we’ll get to visit this place often. Besides it looks like she's just picking up the payment for selling the Grimm.”

“Idiot, she doesn’t look like some fodder goon like the rest. If she's more important then that means she might be bringing the payment to him directly...it also means we won’t have to do your stupid plan either.”

“Damn, was hoping Torchy would mess with you again.”, punching him in the shoulder before she pointed for him to take the lead again.

They continued to follow until she stopped at the side of a building where there rows of lockers lined up together. The woman opened one to take out a paper bag before putting the key in the locker and closed it. “If she’s got the money then next stop is...”

“Torchwick....She’s heading to that building there.”, pointing to what looked a crumbling hotel that was surprisingly clear of people compared to how the streets were. Instead of following through the front they went around to find a broken window for them to get in and find themselves in an old dusty bathroom.

Swiping the dust away from her face when Mercury beckoned her as he cracked opened the door for them to peer outside. Even though it was mostly dark and looked broken they could tell from the grand central stairs and the half lit chandelier that this place was must have been impressive back then....But they focused their attention on the woman as she walked to to the center of the large lobby to stop as the young silver girl who was patiently sitting ran up to hug the black haired woman before together they walked to the suited figure that was sleeping on the couch with a magazine covering their face.

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“They still haven’t come yet?”

“The man on the line said his cargo was held up and said they’d be running late so Ro started reading a book...then he fell asleep.”, shaking her head as together with Gale they approached the couch.

“For such a dangerous man with a brutal ambition, you seem to take things too easy don’t you Warden?”, bending over to take off the magazine to find Roman looking right back at her.

“Did you have a nice nap dear?”, answering his blank face with a smile. “It’s not like I was asleep in the first place.”, sitting up right to beckon Gale to come close before he reached down her shirt to feel her breasts for barely a second when he pulled back to reveal a pack of cigarettes in his hand and then brought out his own lighter.

Erina glanced over to the small table next to the couch to see the ashtray filled with spent cigarettes, “You already went through the three packs you had on you?”

Lighting his smoke first to puff out a bit of smoke as he stretched a few of his limbs, “What can I say? I’m an addict, couldn’t you tell when we first met?”

Seeing that he was a bit strange and his movements were a bit slower than usual so she guessed he was lying about being asleep, “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Is this really the best time to talk about my fantasy of being in bed with you and this boobed idiot?”

“Huh?”, Erina smiled as she noticed Gale latched onto the one specific word since her cheeks turned red when she patted her head, “Sounds like reality if you wanted it, but isn’t it bad to bottle up your burdens Warden?”

“Do you open your closet to clean the skeletons? Give me a call if you’re willing to clean a whole mansion for mines.”

“Heh....where’s Ms. Neo? I thought she would be here with you.”

“She’s keeping track of a little something but she’ll be back before morning so don’t worry about her.”

“Does this little something have to do with those kid hunters?”, getting up from the couch to confront her as he handed the pack back to Gale for her to stuff it back down her shirt. “I said don’t worry about it.”

Her ears twitched when she heard the sound of chains coming from the front entrance before she reached for the white faceless mask on the coffee table to bring it up to Roman’s face. Taking his smoke to put it between her own lips as she put the mask to cover his face, “Our guests are here Master.”, putting up a pretty smile that matched her face before she stepped aside to stand quietly with Gale as Roman’s attention was forward as he could see several figures along with the sounds of chaining ringing through the large lobby.

“You’re late.”, his voice echoed as one of the figures looked like they tugged on something before the rest picked up the pace. It wasn’t until they came into the beams of the light did he finally see them.

A man in a sharp suit that befit someone from the mob carrying a metal briefcase in his left hand as he held a chain in his right that was connected to the chains binding the hands of four girls, two of them were human while the other two was a fox faunus and he assumed was a snake faunus because of their eyes. Though his eyes wandered to the one woman who wasn’t chained like a slave, something about her seemed familiar but he couldn’t really put it together..“Sorry for being late, you know how unreliable people are....I’m assuming you’re him?”

Waving his hand to draw the pair’s attention to Erina and Gale, “My employees call me Warden, but to you and everyone else who deals with me you’ll know me only as Soldier.”

He could see the nervousness on the girls faces while the man smiled, “Sounds like you’ve got obedient employees...”, seeing him leer at Erina and Gale with the feeling of lust just clearly blatant, “...I’m rather jealous you have such fine personnel.”

“It’s difficult to find good workers in this day and age, but we’re not here to talk about management are we?”

“Of course, you can call me Mars.”

Looking back to the other woman whose facial features and way of dressing was starting to get more and more familiar, “And the one lovely woman who isn’t chained like a dog?”

The man gestured to the woman s she stepped forward to extend her right hand before Roman extended his to grab and shake her hand, “The names Iris.”, that’s when it click as his memory of the arms dealer he tormented came back and he could smile which they couldn’t see.

“Pretty cautious aren’t you?”, assuming she was talking about the mask which made him chuckle which they could hear and while Mars laughed along with him only Iris was starting to feel strange as she noticed his grip on her hand.

“And I thought you got out of the business, but in the end a dealer will always be a dealer haha.”

“W-what the hell are you talking about?”

“You didn’t tell me you knew him Iris.”

Looking back to Mars to see his cheerful expression when Iris whose face before was emotionless was now uncertain as Roman leaned in closer to come face to face, “I don’t...”

Using his left hand to slightly pull his mask to the left to at least reveal his right eye as she suddenly went pale, “Missed me sweetheart?”

“Y-you’re supposed to be-” but before she could finish he returned his mask to cover his face as he whispered in her ear, “Unless you want to repeat what happened in Vale, you don’t mention my identity to your partner and every deal we make will be blood and question free. Understood?”

Squeezing her hand for her to twitch from the pain as she nodded, and he leaned back as he continued to shake her hand and pat her left shoulder, “Finally making it to the big girl table huh?”

“J....Just doing what I do best...”, trying to play along with his more light-hearted tone when Roman finally let go of her for her to walk back and notice Mars’ eyes sparkle. “Well didn’t expect this to be a nice reunion.”

“Y-yeah...I didn’t either...”, the end of her words was so quiet it was near pathetic but Mars payed it no mind. “Since you guys know each other than that’ll make this relationship much easier don't you think Soldier?”

“While this reunion was touching, our relationship depends on what you’re dealing.”

“Unlike others I specialize in all the industries; drugs, weapons, and sex. I’ve already set my claws in Vacuo and Atlas an-”

“You’re looking to add Mistral to that list?”

“You got it, and I know better than to intrude on someone’s turf without dealing them in. I won’t bother trying to haggle so will sixty/ forty suffice? The sixty is you obviously.”

“Hah, first time someone has come to me wanting the short end of the stick. What's the catch?”

“Even though nearly everything about you is shrouded in the dark, the two things I’ve heard about you is that you don’t fail and that those against you would rather kill themselves then meet you. I’d rather stay in your good graces from the get-go then test my chances.”

“At least I know you’re not an idiot, but if that's all for the business end....Then what's the girls and the case for?”

He handed the chain to Iris as he stepped forward to stand in front of him as he opened the metal case to reveal inside were ten syringes with each one having a different color of liquid inside them, “This is one of my newer products, personally tested and can ensure you’ll have some fun on the house.”

Closing the case and setting it down in front of Roman’s feet as he walked back to take the chain and pulled it with great force for the girls who looked surprisingly more clean than he expected once they were in direct light, “And this is my apology for being late, they’re the most _fresh_ from my latest round up. You don’t need to worry about any diseases either, I already had my personal physician test them to find them all clean.”

Three of them showed faces of fear while the last one was avoiding looking him but because of how clean they looked despite the rags they were wearing Roman could only assume they couldn’t have been chained for more than three days. “You’re truly a generous man Mars, I’ll accept your gifts with pleasure.”

Mars smiled as he pulled out some kind of remote to press a button as the collar around all four girls turned on for them to be shocked as they fell to their knees while he dropped the chain. Waiting a few seconds before he released the button for the shocking to stop then tossed the remote to Roman for him to catch, “If they get out of line, just hit the button.”

Looking satisfied Mars reunited with Iris as she nervously nodded towards Roman before they turned to exit, “Ah, how should I send your cut?”

Roman glanced at the girls who were struggling to breathe as he kept tossing up the remote in his hand before he turned back to Mars, “Have my cut ready at the last day of this month, two of my employees will find you to pick it up. The same goes for every month, you miss one then you pay me half of the old month you missed on top of the month you’re paying.”

Waving as he accepted his response and Roman waited till he could no longer see them nor could he hear their footsteps when Gale and Erina came up behind him, “So? What are you gonna do about them?”

Looking back at them, they slowly stood back up even though they were quite shaky as the two human girls were on the verge of tears. “Could have them work the brothel, or just sell’em to some rich snob looking for quick ass....But the effort would be a waste of time.”

Pressing the unlock button on the remote for them to hear a sound as the collars unlocked and fell off from their shoulders as they hit the hard ground. He crushed the remote for it break in his hand before he pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and quickly fired the chains tying them together to which they couldn’t react fast enough and remained still.

Kicking the case down to kick it over to them, “Look for a guy named Biz, he’ll buy any drugs for his crackhouse so use that money for yourselves. Now get out of my sight.”

Human girl 1- “...W-why?”

Roman- “Why what?”

Human girl 2- “You’re....just letting us go?”

Roman- “I thought girls were suppose to be smart, guess I was wrong.”

They looked at each other and whispered when the woman with snake eyes had spoken up, “B-but...where do we go?”

“That’s not my problem now is it sweetie?”

With a more fierce tone the fox woman spoke up which slightly frightened the other girls, “Think you’re too good for us?!”

“Hah, is it wrong if I do? The amount of cash flow I have, adding you four wouldn’t even amount to pocket change. I don’t need useless sluts, I need soldiers hence my name. And unfortunately you meet the former, now piss off and go back home or die trying cause you’re not my responsibility.”

Their confused expressions before they started whispering again made him annoyed as he raised his gun and fired to scare them before aiming at them, “Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”, reaching the end of his countdown the snake girl grabbed the case and the two human girls followed after her as they ran out towards the front entrance...but the fox faunus stayed as she remained still...even though Roman stepped slowly to press the gun to her forehead.

“You’re really testing my patience you know that Foxy?”, her expression was still staying strong but as he glanced a bit down he could see that her clenched fist was shaking along with seeing a bit of cold sweat going down her neck.

“....Is it true?”

“I’m really tempted to just shoot you and let your body rot in this cesspool....but I’ll humor you as a potential dying wish. Is what true Foxy?”

“I overheard that douche-bag when he was looking up about you....is it true that you’re hunting down the White Fang?”

“And if it is?”

“I wanna join you.”

“Hahah! Ha....now why would I let you work for me?”

“I’ll do whatever you want. My body is yours to abuse in any way you want me, as long as I get to kill the bastard that killed my mother.”

“And this so called mother-killing bastard is in the White Fang?”

“I don’t know his name...I just know he works right under their leader and the others call him...Lieutenant.”, his memory flashed back to the large man who wielded a chainsaw as his weapon....Roman always figured he was too..together for a White Fang who each member has some kind of problem with them. _A killer who chops up people with his saw? Seems fitting for a sociopath._

“What’s your name Foxy?”

“Kara.”

“Kara huh....”, still keeping the pistol pressed to her forehead as he stared at her until he flipped the pistol in his hand to hold it up to her. “Take it.”

Remaining cautious as she slowly took the pistol from his hand as she looked at it to notice it appeared damaged with scratches, “You want your revenge? Then the three who just ran, go kill them.”

“What?!”

“What’s the problem? The second they were taken they became nobodies who no one would bat an eye if they disappear just like you, this is your way to become someone again.”

She looked at the gun and from her expression he figured she was imagining herself doing the deed, “Why...if you were just gonna kill them then why did you give them hope and run?”

“Cause hope is the worse torture I can give and I didn’t plan to kill them in the first place. Fools like them, a con-artist will find them and they’ll become food for the wolves before morning.”

“Then why are you making me do it?!”

Taking off his mask to show his face to see her expression turned grim once she saw his smile, “Why not? This is your trial, can you spill innocent blood and use the bodies of the cattle to make your way back up to live once again...or will your humanity restrict you to the point that death is your only savior in an endless loop of suffering?”

Her conflicted expression showed her morals while he took out his lighter to set fire to the white mask before tossing it away. Then taking out a scroll to hold it out to her, “Once you’ve killed them, you’ll take pictures to confirm the mark. If you don’t...”

As she reached for the scroll he grabbed her hand to pull her close and whisper in her left ear, “I’ll find three bodies on the curb once I leave this building and when I pass by a certain cafe I’ll see a pretty fox without her arms and legs while a fat slob is fucking her like the whore she really is.”

Letting go of her hand for her to step back away from him, “Better hurry, your promotion is getting away.”

Still backing away as Roman waved before she turned and ran out of the crumbling hotel, “Do you always have to scare them like that Ro?”

Turning to the two to take his cigarette back from Erina’s lips so he could smoke, “Hah...fear drives people to act, it’s easier than showing compassion. You two follow her and do the deed if she can’t.”

Gale gave a sloppy salute before listening to his orders as she quickly ran out through the entrance which made Erina giggle seeing how hyper she was, “Gale is so cute, but Warden...”

Stepping closer to whisper to him, “I can’t tell who it is, but there's definitely someone here and they’ve been watching the entire time. Gale should be able to handle Kara so...”

“Don’t, just go. I can take care of myself, besides if they’ve been watching that means they want something more than my blood.”

“....And if you do get in trouble?”

“I’ve been able to talk myself out of a lot of situations...but if it happens Neo knows what to do.”, patting her shoulder as he walked past her before hearing her footsteps get more faint until he couldn’t hear it any longer.

Sitting back on the couch to puff out some smoke first, “....Alright, the spectators are gone. Come out and let's get this over with.”

Hearing silence for nearly a minute before hearing the sound of light footsteps accompanied before another set of footsteps that sounded oddly metallic, “Huh...the only person I know who makes that kinda sound with their feet is a silver headed spiky douchebag and I guess the other pair has to belong to my jaded ex.”

Looking towards his right where the footsteps came from until Emerald appeared in the light while aiming one of her revolvers at him with Mercury walking right by her, “Well, isn’t this a happy reunion.”

Mercury- “The suit doesn’t fit that smug face of yours Torchy.”

Roman- “I’m not a fan of suits either but unlike you I actually need to keep appearances Spiky. But we’re not here to talk about fashion are we?”

Emerald- “Drop it.”

Roman- “Drop what?”

Emerald- “All the weapons you have on you.”

Roman- “That pretty Fox has my gun, weren’t you watching Emmy? Or do you need glasses? I’m sure they’d look cute on y-.”, the sound of a bullet rang through his left eardrum as he felt it barely graze his ear before looking at Emmy’s revolver that was a bit smokey from the shot.

“No time for games huh? Very well.”, getting up from the couch to stand up and slowly take out a second pistol from his back holster to place it on the table. Then a pair of brass knuckles along with four small round objects, “What’s with the balls? You a juggler now?”

“Small balls filled with dust, a killer explosive that's easy to carry.”

Emerald- “Take off the jacket.”

Roman- “Really Emmy?”

Hearing the click of the hammer from her revolver as he sighed and proceeded to take off his jacket, which revealed his shoulder holster with a third pistol and two magazines along with several knives. “Lotta gear even for you Torchy, compensating for something?”

Taking off the shoulder holster before tossing it onto the table, “If you hadn’t notice my trusty stallion is out for repairs so it's only fair I carry enough to match its firepower.” But that’s everything, happy?”

Seeing her unchanging expression, “As much as I could care less about being indecent in this kind of place, do you really expect me to drop my pants?”

Emerald- “What are you doing here Roman?”

Roman- “I’m a new man, can’t you see? I’ve started over a new leaf just like any other poor bastard with a shitty life would.”

Mercury- “That’s one hell of a bloody leaf you turned over Torchy, or do you want to ignore all the White Fang fodder that’s gone missing ever since you stepped foot in this kingdom?”

Roman- “Details, besides why do you care what happens to them?”

Emerald- “They become our problem if they come to us because of what you’ve done....You know I should just shoot you and be done with it.”

Roman- “If you really wanted to kill me you would have done it during my conversation with that sleazebag. So tell me, why aren’t I bleeding on the ground looking up to your beautiful red eyes before you’d put a bullet through my head my dear Emerald?”

Emerald- “What’s to say that won’t happen now?”

Roman- “Because I know both you and Spikey are smarter than I expect you to be.”

Mercury- “Hooo Torchy giving us credit? He really has gone insane.”

Roman- “And you’re still a smartass even though it's been months. So other than coming to kill me under Cinder’s orders, you came to make a deal with me didn’t you?”

Emerald- “Why the hell would we deal with you when you’ve got nothing to bargain in the first place?”

Roman- “Because you know as much as I do, that Cinder and whoever it is that created that temptress wants to make a new world with those monsters. And it won’t involve you two.”

Mercury- “How do you figure that?”

Roman- “You two are still human, and because of that you don’t fit into their vision. You want a fallback, I’m the man to turn too.”

Emerald- “Why would you help us in the first place?”

Roman- “My murderous intent is towards Cinder and only her alone. I couldn’t give less of a damn about wanting to kill you two...but the fact that you’re here means I came to the right kingdom. What do you say? A deal between thieves and criminals is a better one than with monsters and devils don’t you think?”

Slowly lowering her revolver as she contemplated everything, especially about Cinder, the Grimm and...her...but she was a bit surprised when Mercury spoke up, “What’s really in it for us?”

Emerald- “The hell are you doing?”

Mercury- “What? If Torchy wants to deal why not? Exploit the sicko for his connections as much as possible, it’ll be better for us anyway. Besides, Cinder’s been busy with her all this time that she hasn’t given us a thing to do.”

Emerald- “This is the real reason why you wanted to find him isn’t it?!”

Mercury- “Honestly it wasn’t, but if he's offering why not take it?”

Emerald- “God you’re such an idiot...”

Roman- “Come on Emerald, do you really think you can stand beside Cinder in her Grimm kingdom? I mean feel free to play the role of the traitor but even if you hold that bloody banner you’re still a sack of meat to all those things.”

Emerald- “Traitor? That’s rich coming from you when everyone you’ve betrayed is dead.”

Roman- “Yet I’m still standing, why? Because I followed through as a traitor, I had no hesitations whereas you clearly do.”, putting out his smoke in the already filled ashtray. “And since you’re still hesitating why not have a way out? That’s the second thing a professional thief always remembers, to have a way out.”

Mercury- “What’s the first?”

Lowering her revolver as she contemplated his words, “The first thing a thief remembers is the prize comes first.”

“Exactly,” stepping around the table which made her aim her revolver again as he walked towards her for the barrel to press against his chest, “So, what is **your prize** if Cinder succeeds? I mean what's the point of fame if you’ll only be known as a sidekick and what's the point of glory if you can't flaunt it?” Or do you always prefer to be known as second best?”

“Why should I tell you?”

Placing a hand on her revolver as he leaned in to face her up close, “Because I want to hear you lie to yourself one more time before your pretty face disappears just cause you weren’t smart enough to have a backup.”, pulling his hand back to open it as she heard a clink before watching the rest of the bullets left in her revolver drop to the ground from his hand with each clink seeming louder than the last.

Pulling her revolver back from his chest to pop out the cylinder to see it was empty and not some trick, “....If we deal, what’s in it for you?”

Roman- “You’ll still be by Cinder’s side but any interesting or noteworthy moves she makes you tell me. All I need is a hint, you can tell me the color red and I can interpret it in multiple ways to find out where you are.”

Mercury- “Sounds like you’ll be slow on the draw Torchwick.”

Roman- “Having an near endless supply of bodies to comb the region along with optic drones to be my eyes in the air helps that bit. That’s literally all you need to do, just a one word text and I’ll make sure your escape is always open at any given time until you decide it's time to quit. I do all the heavy-lifting and you need only do the bare minimum, sounds like a great deal where all the cards are stacked in your favor don’t you think?”

Looking to her as he tapped her shoulder since she seemed to be in deep thought, “So, what’ll it be partner?”

Thinking back to Cinder and how she had been more or less distant ever since they came to Mistral when the screams of people and the roars of Grimm had popped into her thoughts as she remembered Vale and Beacon. Plus she also knew Salem didn’t give her or Mercury much thought other than being Cinder’s personal aides. “You got a deal.”

Clapping his hands together as they could see the elated smile on his face, “Wonderful, this kind of decision calls for celebration doesn’t it? But I imagine you guys aren’t the dinner type so...Spikey if you’re looking for some quality fun there's a brothel a few buildings away to the right from here. They’ve got the largest variety of women to choose from, just give them this card and they’re all yours.”, taking out from his pocket a black card to hand to Mercury as he looked at it and chuckled.

“Hah, never thought I’d say thanks Torchy.”

“And I’ll try to forget you ever said that to me.”, waving the silver haired kicker as he put away the card and started whistling as he headed for the exit.

“What about you Emmy? Need one for men? Or do you swing for the other base? Theres also gambling if that 's more your style.”

Reloading her revolver before putting it back in her back holster before looking back to him, “Can you just get me the hell out of this shithole?”

“I figured you’d say that, let me get my stuff first then I’ll take you out.”, turning around to requip all of his gear while Emerald silently watched. “What’s the real reason you carry all that stuff? I get the explosives, but all the knives and guns? They don’t fit you.”

“It may not seem much to you what with your aura protecting you and every annoying fucking hunter out there, but guns and knives are more than enough to put terror into the everyday populace.”

Once he put his jacket back on she saw him reach into the couch to pull out a sawed off shotgun, “Seriously?”

Loading it with extra shells before walking next to Emerald, “Ready to leave princess?”

“Yeah, and don’t ever call me that again.”

“Hah...as you wish your majesty.”

Leaving the hotel together and to avoid the stares Emerald stuck unnaturally close to Roman, “Still not use to seeing this my dear?”

“I’d rather blow my brains out than be use to this place....but I guess you’re already use to it if you got a black card for a brothel.”

“For the record I haven’t gone, but it's a place my employees frequent and I get the bill so we worked something out.”

“Yeah sure....”

“I’m not that desperate, and I think I have enough charm if I say so myself.”

“Only times you’re charming is when your mouth is shut.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but as a woman you’re body is already a better charm compared to mines.”

“Perv.”, with some idle banter the atmosphere between the two wasn’t as heavy as she expected it to be which Emerald had to admit was better than what she had been feeling when she was with Cinder and Salem. They made it to the end of the street where there was a freight elevator for them to board and they stood on opposite sides while Roman checked himself to find one last cigarette for him to light.

“So...how are you?”

“You’re really going with that?”

“It’s not like we have a lot in common to talk about...”

“We’re both thieves, we’re both street rats whether we want to admit it or not, and we both deal with moral issues because we’re pathetic enough to have morals in the first place. Look behind the masks and we’re almost identical except I’m the one leading while you’re just dragging your feet following Cinder’s fiery ass.”

“Says the one that’s hot for her. I’m a better thief and I can be a step ahead of you anytime I want.”, she didn’t react when he suddenly appeared in front of her as he slammed his right hand right next to her ear.

“I’m the best at what I do and I’m always five steps ahead of you because of your shackles, that’s the reality of your situation. I’m free to make my choices...but you, you listen to her and you're committing yourself to fill that witch’s ambition even if it kills you. And for the record, who said I only had the hots for Cinder?”

Seeing her blush is what made him smile as if he won something before he stepped back away but notice she had turned away from him, “Didn’t expect you to be so cute when you’re cornered.”

“......Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years yall, and thanks again for reading.


	35. Reality Check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a wordy chapter, but a little bit of love in here too.

Standing over a console to input a command as the large railgun meters to his right could be heard as the barrel extended further and locked in a massive bullet shaped object between the two rails while there appeared to be blue light circulating around it. Grabbing a pair of binoculars to look ahead to see miles away was a custom heavy Atlas Paladin with a black tint but it had Roman’s emblem on it’s right. shoulder.

Grabbing the earmuffs before flicking up the safety to reveal the red button, “Test #32. Now testing Paladin Number 2 aka Sonny’s reinforced shield, note disabled weapons systems and boosters in order to maximise energy towards defensive capabilities. Weapon will be a modified railgun using a thirty pound hardened projectile that should be able to blast through several meters of reinforced steel walls. For context, previous test have nearly destroyed Sonny but after continuous retrials the last test resulted only in the lost of his arm. Heres hoping this last one will be successful or else I’ll need to waste time getting more resources.”

Grabbing the radio mic as it was next to a screen showing the Paladin’s current status, “You ready Sonny?”, looking back at them to see it give a thumbs up before punching it’s fists together for a metal shield to extend out of its forearms as an orange coating appeared to cover it.

Putting the earmuffs on, “Fire in the hole!”, slamming his hand on the red button for the railgun to light up before firing that created a large dust cloud behind it as a straight trail of dust followed the bullet as it smashed into the shield and caused an explosion of sand.

Waving the dust out of his face as he took off the earmuffs and grabbed the radio to dial to a different channel, “Mikey clear out the dust.”, and after a few seconds he started to hear something akin to a propeller from a Bullhead until the dust cleared.

Seeing the dust get blown away as he looked to his left to see a thinner more mobile looking Paladin with the same black tint and Roman’s emblem but with green pulsing eyes instead of Sonny’s red pulsing eyes. Mikey’s hands had spun like propellers before slowly coming to a stop to transform back to large looking claws that surpass the claws of even Beowolves in length. “Thanks Mikey.”

Waving towards the claw paladin as they waved back before walking away towards the compound off to the distance. Turning back to look ahead of him as the dust was starting to clear away from Sonny to reveal his shield had held without a single scratch. “FUCK YES!”

After his brief cheer filled outburst he looked at the screen showing Sonny’s status to confirm there was no damage to his body and that the shield was able to block the projectile. Grabbing the radio mic, “Nice Sonny, now we got the shield done we can work on those dust cannons. Head to the garage and get outfitted we’ll start the test tomorrow morning.”

Unlocking his shield Sonny nodded and headed towards the compound while he started powering down the railgun when his scroll rang for him to tap it, [Mr. Trig? You have a video call waiting at the workroom.]

“Who's calling?”

[The caller ID is coming from Boss, which I believe is Mister Torchwick.]

“I’m coming!”, powering down his console before grabbing his jacket off the chair as he ran towards the compound. Once he got past the gates he heard the sounds of heavy machinery as his robotic creations along with the custom Paladins he was able to make roam around the large compound.

Running inside the main building to burst through the main double doors to reveal his work room that was filled with numerous scraps and prototypes of new projects he had been conducting but he went to sit in the chair as he faced the multiple screens on the wall. The center one had the icon of a ringing phone before he pressed enter for the image of Roman sitting in what looked like the bridge of his ship. [Hey boss...if this is about Mr. Xiong calling I’m really sorry he as-”

[Don’t worry about it, I know you always listen to me and Junior. It’s one of your good traits to say the least. How’s Melodic?]

[It’s going through one last check up to ensure its accuracy along some added features Boss, I’ve also already produced different rounds that are compatible with your cane. I’ve replaced your standard explosive flares with one that has the explosive power of a fragmentation grenade from a point blank distance.]

[Point blank?]

[Yep, but the flare will generate more heat as it travels a longer distance which in turn increases its max explosive power. It’s cap seems to be a thousand yards as I’ve fired for longer distances and found no differences but either way if you’re close range it’ll still take care of people and if they try to run it’ll only be worse for them.]

[Sounds fun, you made more?]

[I’ve made ice dust rounds so it’ll encase anything in ice on impact, along with a steam round in order to make a smokescreen. Oh! I also replaced your concussion rounds with ones filled with gravity dust, it’ll send out a large shock-wave on impact but here's the best part of it. You know how you load your shells directly in your cane right? Say you fire the explosive round and then fire the gravity round, the gravity round will hit the explosive and cause a shock-wave to make the explosive round reach near it’s top potential damage cap as the force from the shockwave will dramatically increase it’s speed instantly. The same can be said using any other special round I’ve made.]

[You really go all out Trig, but when can I expect Melodic back? It’s rather tiresome to carry a bunch of guns even though I’ve more or less gotten use to you.]

[The last batch of rounds should be done at the same time Melodic Cudgel’s checkup is finished which is tonight. I’ll have a fast ship ready once they’re done and send it overnight, it should reach your location by the time you wake up tomorrow morning.]

[Good, also there's something else I’d like to talk to you about but can you make this a group call and connect to Junior in Atlas and Locke in Vale?]

[Sure thing, give me a few seconds. Oh that reminds me, that professor lady...Goodwitch? She’s called me for help a few times trying to find the Headmaster but she recently told me to send you a message.], inputting two phones numbers for the left screen and the right screen to have the same phone icon with the word connecting under them.

[What’s the message?]

[She said if things get too dark you should remember there's always a light waiting for you...or some shit like that I was half asleep when she told me that message.]

[Sounds like something Ozzy would say.], within a few seconds both screens on the left and right connected to show Junior in what looked like a backroom and Locke in his home with his granddaughter looking at the camera.

Junior- [You called Trig?]

Locke- [Oh is this on?], Mia- [It’s on Grandpa, it’s on. Look!], his granddaughter pointing at the screen before he acknowledged it and suggested she go play.

Roman- [You guys hear me?]

Locke- [Oh Roman, it’s good to see your doing well.]

Junior- [Hey don’t give Trig shit for giving me your number, you should’ve told me it in the first place.]

Roman- [I didn’t call him nor did I ask him to call you to talk about something as trivial as that. Locke, how are things in Vale?]

Locke- [Repairs and construction take a while and the city is at least safe, but Beacon Academy is still a problem. While the professors and the hunters they have left have done their share in fighting the Grimm it’s like they kill one and two more take their place. Their movements and unnatural tendency to reinforce their losses is too organized, even if they are able to think for themselves.]

Roman- [When I hacked into Beacon Academy’s system I also hacked into Ozpin’s files, along with it were a veteran hunter’s reports. They mentioned that a particular fire lady had controlled and used parasite type Grimm and the only name I didn’t recognize in his reports was one called Salem. It’s safe to assume Salem is Cinder’s higher up and is the cause behind the Grimm infestation at Beacon Academy.]

Locke- [If she’s capable of keeping an endless supply of Grimm at the Academy then it looks hopeless.]

Trig- [I can send some heavy firepower, but if I get involved the only option I’ll have is blowing Beacon Academy out of existence. Except if someone is controlling the Grimm they can just keep sending more after I’ve cleared it out.]

Junior- [Why the hell is she keeping the Grimm there in the first place?]

Roman- [Cause she's looking for something and I don’t know what, but you don’t send a bunch of man-eating soldiers to destroy a place and just sit them there for nothing. We can only leave it to Glynda and her hunters to handle it, we’re not them so we can only use guns and explosives which could accidently just pave way for whatever those animals are searching for. Let's end it on that note until I find out more and move on to something else; Junior what’s happening in Atlas?]

Junior- [Judging from the drunks that come by my bar the city is split, sympathizers saying what happened in Vale is a tragedy while the other half, specifically the rich bastards are saying Vale got what it deserved.]

Roman- [How’s Daddy Schnee taking it? Not exactly the best image for his company if his daughter sides with the sympathizers.]

Junior- [Last I heard of Jacques Schnee is that he’s been on the down low with the Vale news, and his daughter Weiss Schnee? Rumor is she’s less and less out of the light and only shows up for company parties or public events that SDC sponsors. Way I see it, if he keeps her away from anything Vale related then she’s a pretty figure head to show off since people like to hear her sing too. There's supposedly a charity event happening where Weiss Schnee is going to do a concert, if she's there then Jacques should be too. Want me to do some scouting?]

Roman- [Call up Elena and Murdock to go with you, tell’em it's a favor from me and see how she’s doing while trying to figure out what Jacques is doing. Guy is greedy and influential, someone like him can paint Vale’s fall in whatever way benefits him the most but it's worse if he becomes a puppet for someone.]

Trig- [What about me boss?]

Roman- [I want you to look into the White Fang, Adam Taurus may be running the show but he's too young to have started it himself. The Syndicate had several branches so the White Fang must have different ones too and you’re the only one of us that has enough tech and gear to do a wide spread search freely. But I want you to start off in a place called Menagerie.]

Trig- [Menagerie? The island south of Mistral?]

Roman- [Yeah and its populace is solely faunus. The important point here is that their chieftain is a man called Ghira Belladonna there, the White Fang leader before Bullboy.]

Junior- [Hold up Belladonna? Is this connected to that cat faunus with the red kid?]

Roman- [That wasn’t my idea but it works out, if Kitty is there visiting mommy and daddy then Bullboy’s goons should be there too. Trouble follows that girl like a dog after a bone afterall.]

Trig- [I’ll send your cargo Boss and a few other things first, then I’ll head out and should reach Menagerie by lunchtime if I use my fastest ship.]

Roman- [Other than that...I want you guys to look into something and I don’t care even if its just meaningless gibberish from old people. I want you guys to look into the Four Maidens and Silver Eyed Warriors.]

Locke- [The Four Maidens? You mean that fairytale?]

Junior- [What you think the silver eyed warriors still exist? Pretty sure they’re all dead.]

Roman- [They’re called descendents Junior, and yes Locke I know it’s a fairytale but remember that fairytales have some truth in them or they wouldn’t have been created in the first place.]

Locke- [What exactly are we looking for Roman?]

Roman- [If this Salem can control Grimm then there's a possibility these Maidens actually exist and if anything Ozpin seemed oddly similar to the Wizard in that tale.]

Junior- [You’re suggesting that guy is the same person as the Wizard from a fairy tale that's older than all of our ages combined, are you crazy?]

Roman- [I lost count how many times you’ve asked me that and I said similar, he may not be the same person but at the very least he’s connected. Just find out more and pool the information with Trig so he can figure out if there's any descendents or if these Maidens are still living in Remnant.]

Locke- [Understood.]

Junior- [Sigh, got it.]

Trig- [I’m on it Boss!]

\--------

[We’ve arrived Mr. Trig.], hearing the robotic female voice made him look up as he took his finger of the button off the mini-torch and placed the motherboard he had aside before he got up to look out one side of the cockpit window to see what looked like in the distance was a bustling port city as ships were just docking.

“This is where Ghira Belladonna is living Judy?”

[One of the drones you sent when you were sending off Mr. Torchwick packages took this image to find Ghira Belladonna in this town known as Kuo Kuana.], projecting from the sphere object at the center of the cockpit to show him an above screenshot of a large man who just from a glance had the appearance of a king.

“Alright, turn on the camo and set us down outside the city limits. The place doesn’t look high tech but if we’re detected at all send out an electromagnetic pulse to prevent any photos or potential video recordings.”

[Understood Mr. Trig.], hearing a sound as he felt the ship change direction while the view of the city got closer and he pulled the feed at the front of the ship as he flew right over the city to single out a certain pair.

Using his hands to enlarge the feed as it was two figures getting off a ship that seemed to have sustained some damages, “Judy, face check these two and run them through my files on Vale and Beacon Academy’s database.”, to pause it as he had a more clear view of their faces which appeared to be a yellow monkey faunus and a black cat faunus.

[Running facial recognition software.............we’ve identified the female as Beacon Academy student Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna and the male is not directly related but using the recorded files from the Vytal festival I’ve determined him to be Haven Academy Student Sun Wukong.]

“Huh...Boss will want to know about this. Fire out a drone to tail them and see what she does, even if she’s just here to see her family she’s still connected to the White Fang by association.”

[Understood.], hearing what sounded like a gunshot before he checked his scroll to see a video feed as the drone was now tailing above Blake and Sun. After a few seconds he felt the ship land to a stop before grabbing his goggles and his gear as he headed for the back as the bay door opened.

Stepping off his ship before the bay door to close and with the camo the ship was completely invisible while he looked off to the city from the small hill they landed on. “Never thought I’d see this place again...”

Shaking his head to stop the memories from coming as he hung his goggles around his neck and checked his scroll along with his watch to see they were synced to his ship then headed down towards Kuo Kuana.

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“Woah, never seen so many faunus in one place before.”, walking from the docks as they passed by numerous stands where vendors were selling various items.

“That’s Menagerie for you, it’s the only place faunus can feel safe...feel at home.”, going the steps to enter the town as the crowded walkways proved to be an inconvenience.

“Is it always this crowded?”

“Yes...that’s what happens when you try to stick an entire race on an island that's two-thirds desert.”

“Two-thirds desert?! That’s great! Aren’t you lucky to have all this?”

She wondered his reaction when she remembered that Sun was initially from Vacuo in which he was probably more than use to a desert landscape. “We’re not lucky Sun, we fought for our rights to be treated as equals. And guess what? They gave us an island where we have to make due...because no matter what anyone thinks this place is proof that we’re still second rate citizens to everyone.”

Feeling an arm wrap around her shoulder, “You alright?”

“Yeah...guess I should be glad to go home.”

“Which house is it anyway? Is it that one over there? How about that small one there?”, seeing him point in various directions, “No...”, before taking his hand to point directly ahead of them where a large building stood out in vast comparison to the rest.

“It’s that one.”, keeping his finger pointed ahead before looking back at her and pointing to her which he didn’t notice the slight hint of red in her cheeks as he was too...in shock as he was processing it.

Hearing a strange sound made her look up to catch a glimpse of something fly by at an extreme speed before it suddenly vanished in air and she couldn’t see it...but now she had the feeling she was being watched. “Come on Sun.”

Tapping his shoulder to get him out of his stunned tranced as she started going down the path as he picked up the rear. Not taking their time and quickly made their way to stand in front of the large doors of the impressive home but as she reached to use the door knocker she stopped herself, “Something wrong?”

“It’s just...it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my parents.”

“Come on it can’t be that bad but hey, I’m here to back you up if it is.”, Pointing to himself as he flashed a sparkling smile.

Which made her feel conflicted, still annoyed that he stowed away and followed her but relieved that he was here because it soothed the lonely feeling when she left Vale...

He gestured her to the door knocker and she took a deep breath before grabbing then knocking on the large doors. The mere seconds waiting filled with tension seemed to last forever as she held herself until she heard the door opening to reveal a black catwoman as shown by her ears who seemed frozen once she met eyes with Blake. She meekly raised her hand and cracked a smile, “H-hi...Mom.”

Standing motionless as they stared at each other before Blake was surprised as she was hugged and felt her mother’s warm embrace. “M-mom?”

“Thank goodness you’re alright.”, a bit stunned from her actions but she returned the hug as Sun noticed a smile form on her face when he heard louder footsteps.

“Kali, who is i-”, the large man stepping from the opened doors as Kali loosened her hug to let Blake see him. “Blake....”

\--------

“We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale wasn’t perfect, but it certainly didn’t deserve what happened....We were both so worried.”

“Please, I knew she’d be fine.”

“Oh that isn’t the slightest bit true, you should’ve seen him pacing after we knew.”, Blake seemed to smile after hearing their concern as she was slowly forgetting the tense feeling she had before knocking on the door...except...

“You guys have nothing to worry about, I’ve seen your daughter in action before and let me tell yah she’s got some moves,” and Sun’s comment takes the attention in the room.

“And what exactly do you mean by that Mr. Wukong?”, turning as he heard the cold tone from Ghira to give him a shaky smile as he began to dig his hole further than he should have. “I-i mean you’re daughter is a capable fighter and-”

Watching Sun try to explain his words Kali spoke to Blake with a softer voice, “So..why is he here again?”

“He...kinda followed me home?”, looking back towards Sun who was still explaining in a speedy tone as he nervously faced Ghira, “I see.”

“B-but she’s definitely above average.”, leaving a strange silence as Ghira’s stare was the only one when Sun looked to see Kali and Blake stare at him. Thinking of something..he chuckled as he used his tail to pick up the kettle to pour himself some tea, “This tea is really good.”, before drinking and having a nervous but chipper smile on his face.

With a curious smile Kali leaned to Blake as she spoke softly, “I like him.”

“Mom!”, though their attention was taken away when they heard the loud sound of the door knocker from the front.

“Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting.”, accompanied by him suddenly hitting the table with a light tap

“Ghira.”, Kali gently placed her hand on his.

“Sigh, give me a moment.”, getting up to walk away from the table as he headed for the front door.

“Is everything okay?”

Kali taking a sip of her tea first before speaking, “Yes dear, just poor timing. He can reschedule; it’s just been hard dealing with them lately.”

“Dealing with who?”, her ears perked up to her daughter’s question. “Mm? The White Fang.”

“What?!”, Blake and Sun jump to their feet at that answer as they rush together towards the front.

“Dad!”, seeing her father with two other figures as they wore red hoods, “Blake, what’s wrong?”

“Ms Belladonna, we had no idea you had returned,” clasping their hands together before giving a quick bow.

Blake- “What are you doing talking to these people?”

Ghira- “This is Corsac and Fennec Albain, they represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now.”

Sun- “These psychos are here too?!”

Fennec- “Young man, I’m not sure what you’ve heard of our organization. But I can assure you we’re not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe.”

Blake- “What we’ve heard? We’ve seen first-hand, your fanatics slaughter people.”

Hearing that Ghira’s expression darkened as he faced the two representatives, “What is she talking about?”

Corsac- “Precisely what we came to discuss with you, your Grace.”

Coming from behind was Kali, “Is everything all right?”

Seeing their expressions and lack of knowledge about what happened baffled Sun, “Wait, you guys seriously don’t know!?”

Ghira- “Know what?”

Blake- “..The White Fang was at the Fall of Beacon. They attacked innocent civilians and they released Grimm into the school.”, Corsec and Fennec exchanged glances while they’re expressions remained the same neutral disposition.

Ghira- “Is this true?”

Fennec- “Sadly your Grace...it is.”

About to step forward, “Don’t act like your s-”

“That’s enough!”, Ghira raised his arm to stop Blake before she proceeded to step back.

Ghira- “Explain yourselves.”

Corsac- “Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under the orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they’ve elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you’re all familiar with the young adept and his.....extreme philosophies.”

Sun pointed a finger at the two to get their attention, “You know, Beacon wasn’t the first time the Feng started shooting up Vale!”

Fennec- “The High Council had their suspicions of a splinter group. But they could prove nothing until this latest incident.”

Blake- “Incident? People are dead!”

Corsac- “And it is a tragedy.”

Fennec- “Your Grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang.”

Ghira- “And how can I be sure of that?”

Corsac- “We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang’s tactics are admittedly, more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie. But this, this is no way to make our message heard.”

Fennec- “We have ample documentation from the council meeting as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you care to review them.”

Ghira- “I will. But another day. I’d like some time to reconnect with my daughter.”

Corsac- “But of course, your Grace.”

Fennec- “We completely understand. It was a pleasure to see you again, young Blake.”

Corsac- “We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but can understand if you no longer support our cause.”

Fennec- “It is a wearying fight, after all.”

Blake- “Who said I’m done fighting?”

Corsac- “Hmm...if you ever do wish to return, you need merely come find us.”

Fennec- “Sister Illya would be elated.”

Ghira stepped in between them as he held his hands out to grab both handles on the doors, “Goodbye gentlemen.” before closing them.

Seeing Blake as the first to go back as Sun...“So...those guys were creepy.”

Ghira with tired and annoyed expression, “I really don’t like you.”

\---------

 _You must be tired after all that’s happened dear, why don’t you take a refreshing bath before you rest?_ , were her mother’s advice but how she said it seemed more like instructions as Blake undressed her clothes to set them aside as she stepped into the outer bath that was already filled with warm water without noticing a certain pair of pants on the ground....

Dipping one of her toes in first before slowly stepping inside the bath to feel the warm water sooth her. She moved along to relax her back against the back of the bath as she looked at the exterior of home before she looked up at the shining moon, “...I wonder how everyone is doing...”

Suddenly hearing some bubbles to make her look to her right before something broke the surface of the water and she waited for the steam to dissipate a bit to see a shirtless Sun who....she could see with a blurry view was also pantless, “S-sun?!”, using her left arm to cover her breasts and and her right hand to cover her crotch.

Sun wiping the water of his eyes saw a bright red Blake covering herself, “Woah!”, before turning and covering his eyes.

“W-what are you doing here Sun?!”

Moving one of his fingers slightly to peek as he was somewhat mesmerized by Blake’s smooth skin that seem to shine with the water and the moonlight, “Y-your mom said I smelled a bit and I figured it was something from the ship and told me to take a bath and...I’ll go.”

_Mom!....I knew there was something behind that smile when she told me to use the outside bath!_

Seeing him still cover his eyes as he started to head for the edge of the bath but, “...Wait Sun...you don’t have to leave, but can you hand me a towel?”

Nodding as he turned around to exit the bath to which Blake got a clear view of his tone buttocks which made her blush even more before averting her eyes. Though she still kinda looked to see him put on his boxers and his pants first before he grabbed the towel and came back while covering his eyes....even though she could clearly see he was trying to peek.

Once he entered he handed the towel to Blake and turned as she wrapped herself tightly so it wouldn’t fall off or anything before she took a breath, “You can stop covering your eyes now Sun.”

“You sure?”

“....Yes.”

Slowly taking his hands from his eyes to see a rather stunningly beautiful smile from Blake, “Sorry...my mother must have set us up.”

“Don’t worry...”, slowly moving his way to at least be on the same side of the bath as Blake, “I don’t mind being set up if this is the result.”, seeing his charming expression though she had to somewhat stop herself from staring at his abs which were more prominent with water dripping from them.

“Heh...Dork....How do you think everyone is Sun?”

“Well, knowing Rubes she’s probably trying to find out how to solve this mess with Jaune, Ren and Nora. I don’t know about Weiss but...after hearing about her father she might be having it rough......And I can’t imagine how Yang feels right now, she was lucky you pulled her away before she lost her hands but I don’t think she’ll be the same with her injuries.”

Blake pulled her legs to wrap her arms around them as she looked at her reflection, “...Do you think I’m a terrible person for running because I don’t want to hurt them or put them in danger?”

“....Honestly...yeah.”, which sent a punch to her heart because of his honest answer but, “But, unlike others you have reasons and you saw first-hand what could happen to Ruby and them if you stayed. I’m not saying you made the right choice, but it’s your choice and I’ll stick by your decisions.”

Suddenly feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders which made her cheeks heat up a bit but she realised how nice it felt to be comforted by someone before she leaned her head against his chest, “...Thanks Sun...”

Feeling herself more relax after their chat before they started to pass the time with Sun asking about her parents when she heard the sound again, “Shh....Sun do you hear that?”

Closing one of his ears while focusing on listening from the other, “The crickets?”

“No...”, the strange sound that sounded similar to the noise a hoverboard makes happened again, “That...”

Trudging along the bath to step out as Sun followed even though he once again covered his eyes when she suddenly dressed to put on her pants and her crop top before grabbing Gambol Shroud. Once they entered the house the sound was getting louder to her ears once they were approaching a door she remembered being her father’s study. She gestured to Sun by bringing a finger to her lips to signify silence as she pushed the door slightly to peek inside. Inside her father’s study she could see some metal drone hovering in the air as a beam of blue webbed light had shined from it onto the pieces of paper on his desk while noticing that the window was opened. “What is that thing?”

“I don’t know but it looks like it’s scanning my Dad’s files....”

“What do you want to do?”

“Just...wait.”, pressing her hand against his chest to hold him back as she kept her eyes on the drone even though she was thinking about his abs again as she felt it. “Blake?”

Calling her name broke her thoughts as he pointed for her to see the drone stop scanning and leave out the window, “Come on!”

Running after it as she jumped out of the window first to see the drone moving away at a fast speed before she started chasing while she could hear Sun swinging amongst the trees to match her speed. They still kept their distance as they kept their chase after what seemed like half an hour when they slowed down to notice it was coming to a stop.

Stopping to hide behind a tree together as the saw drone stop in an empty road next to a being who stood under the moonlight. Blake could see that they weren’t from Menagerie as their clothes didn’t match and looked like someone from the city but the prominent feature was their bald head that was covered by what looked like a tattoo of a demonic skull. “So Ghira Belladonna still contacts the White Fang and the White Fang does have different branches? Looks like boss was on point. Record the names Corsac and Fennec Albain along with the name they mentioned Illya for further digging. Ready the ship Judy, we’ll check to see if there's anything hiding in the desert but keep three drones here. One for the general scan of the land, one following Ghira Belladonna and the last following Blake Belladonna. Judging from the conversation the relationship between her and Adam Taurus may lead to his location if she continues to interact with people related to the White Fang.”

 _Who’s this boss?...And if he’s following me for someone it has to be someone I know but it sounds like they’re looking for the White Fang so it can’t be Adam....Who?_ , locked in her thoughts when Sun accidently stepped closer to hear when he stepped on a branch to make a loud crack to which Blake saw the man who was checking his scroll suddenly froze in place.

They punched the bottom of the drone for it to skyrocket to the sky before they started a mad sprint towards what they remembered was the shore, “After him!”

Seeing the stalls as they were on the beach along with the ships as they continued to chase the man when he gripped the wood from one of the stalls to break from his pull before tossing it behind him at Blake. Wielding Gambol Shroud she sliced the wood in half before sending a wide sweep blade beam towards his legs, but he looked back and rolled forward for the blade beam to go past under him as they punched the ground for sand to explode upwards into a cloud.

She swiped her blades to send another blade beam to cut the cloud in half to see him still running when they jumped to raise their right arm to block Sun’s flying kick. Swinging his arm to bounce Sun away as they rolled to their feet. “Hold it!”

Cornering him as she raised Gambol Shroud in its gun-form to aim at them while he was wiping sand off him, “Why are you following me? Why are you following my Dad? And why are you looking for the White Fang!?”

“That’s need to know, and Boss didn’t say you were on the list.”

“Who’s your Boss!?”, keeping her finger steady on the trigger while Sun seemed a bit worried with how shaky she was but focused back on the man. “If you don’t tell us we’ll beat it out of you!”

They took a deep breath as they rolled up their sleeves before they turned their watch on their left wrist for it to expand and cover his left arm with a metal exoskeleton then grabbed his belt to pull it out for it to stiffen in the shape of a blade as she could clearly see it was made entirely of metal. “Bring it.”

Blake rushed in first before Sun could even blink and swung for his neck with the back of her blade when she saw the man’s right eye flash red when her blade was stopped by their belt sword. As he pushed and deflected she heard the sound of a button when out of the corner of her eye she saw something was shot out of the bottom of their hilt, but she couldn’t follow as she held Gambol Shroud to block the overhead swing.

They pulled back their left arm and she heard the sound again as something fired from his arm behind him but she was knocked away when he punched GS. “Blake!”, before she could fall she flipped when she saw Sun to have his hands together to land one foot on his hands then jumped high up in the air with his help as he rushed ahead for the man.

The man stabbed his belt sword into the sand then charged at Sun as well, punching for a left jab for Sun to raise his right hand to feel the fist about to hit before pushing it to the side then spun quickly to send a right backhand to their face. The man momentarily stunned as he wiped the blood from his lips to look at Sun who grinned as they pointed up.

Looking up to see Blake come falling down when he punched up in hopes of holding back her blade but the second he made contact she turned into a purple mist which made his vision hazy as he was stepping back.

Blake used his hazed vision to run up and kick him when she saw he had only his pulsing red eye open. Surprised that when she kicked he grabbed her leg before he lifted her up in the air and was going to slam her down.

Sun slide on his knees to get under her before he did and pushed Blake’s back forward to let her aim as she changed Gambol Shroud’s form to a gun and fire at the man’s face, forcing him to let go so he could block with his metal arm. Landing on her feet to toss GS at him and wrap around his right leg before she pulled to make them fall to the ground.

But his metal left fist seemed to heat up as it turned red with steam before he hit the sand at the same time he fell for sand to explode up like earlier. Except he came jumping out of the sand cloud with his hands together bringing them down like a hammer, to which Sun responded as he fell back to press his hands on the ground and he kicked up to repel the man’s hammer fist with his feet to make him stumble back.

As he was stumbling Blake charged into her swing as sparks flew when he blocked with his metal arm, but when he turned to punch she used her semblance to gain the upper hand as she relentless assaulted while blinking in and out of his vision.

 _How?!_ , even though she knew she was faster and she could tell from his movements earlier that he wasn’t as fast as Sun either but he seemed to turn and deflect every attack she made with his left arm. That’s when she realised that his right eye turned red right when they fought and she could hear something being shot out of his weapon and his arm. “Blake, tag out!”

Hearing Sun’s voice to strike the man from above and jumped back using his arm as a foothold when she saw Ruyi Bang and Jingi Bang in it’s staff form spin in the air towards the man. His attention turned to the spinning staff and he punched it back spinning it at a faster speed than before but Sun caught it effortlessly as he spun it around himself while he struck the man.

Holding Ruyi and Jingi at the center to push it towards him for them to raise their arms to block like a boxer. Sun let go and grabbed the ends of RJ before kicking the center to break them in half to reveal their nunchuck forms, to which Sun struck but received the same impenetrable defense Blake faced.

Blake finally noticed the red light out of the corner of her eyes and directly behind the man as the small red lights seemed to glow. She aimed at each spot to fire for the red lights to disappear signalling she destroyed them and saw the red light from the man’s right eye had dimmed back to normal while his movements got considerably slower.

Sun noticed as well and swung his nunchucks towards the sides of his head to make him block but he fired at the same time to make him reel back from the sound of shotguns being fired next to their ears. Swinging Ruyi and Jinji wildly as they couldn’t match his speed anymore before swinging to hit his chin upwards.

When Blake jumped over and her powerful kick sent the man sliding away on the sand before he crashed into a wooden stand. Landing on her feet to take a breath and looked towards Sun who responded with a hand up as he was catching his breath. “Blake!”

Hearing her parents she turned to see Ghira and Kali coming towards them as they looked towards her, Sun and then the man who was unconscious in the rubble of a destroyed stand. “What’s going on!?”

\--------

“So this man has been sent to spy on you and me to find Adam Taurus?”, as they came to together in their living room when they looked at the unconscious man set against the wall whose hands were tied with a rope.

“That’s what I heard him say, but he never said who he was working for or their name.”

Kali- “Why would they think you know where Adam is? You left the White Fang some time ago didn’t you?”

Blake- “I don’t know...but we won’t know who until we ask him.”, turning their attention to him as Sun walked over and shook their shoulder.

Sun- “Hey pal wake up, time to answer some questions.”, shaking him a bit more before they slowly opened their eyes and seemed to groan in pain.

Raising his arms to see he was binded but still raised his hands up to see mouth to check his jaw that was hurting, “Damn...it’s been too long since I had to fight like that.”

Blake- “Hey! Who are you?”

???- “Sorry, but I don’t have to answer to you.”

Ghira stepped towards him with a menacing presence as he picked him up by his collar to make him stand on his feet, “You will answer to me.”

Looking at his face but the man’s expression didn’t change and he’s words surprised him and Kali, “I still don’t have to, your Grace. If you’re going to threaten me then just kill me.”

“...Do you not value your own life?”

“Living is painful and treacherous, where I’m from death is the only blessing someone can give.”

Hearing the sounds of footsteps to see two members who wore similar clothing to the White Fang representatives came in, “Your Grace! We heard there was an intruder.”

Ghira thought it was strange but assumed that this was their way of staying on good terms, “For a human to come here...he must be some spy from one of the kingdoms, your Grace.”

Looking at them before looking at the man as he let go, “This man is no human and I don’t need the White Fang to handle matters when I can deal with them myself.”

Surprised by his answer, “But sir, he’s clearly a human he has no ears or a tail or any features resembling a faunus.”

Ghira- “I know the smell of a human....and I know the smell of a faunus. You’re a faunus aren’t you?”

???- “Hahah...guess you ain’t the Chieftain of a country for nothing.”

Ghira- “Give me your name.”

???- “....My friends call me Trig.”

Ghira- “And your real name?”

Trig- “My real name...was Sevis Marshall....when I lived here in Menagerie as a dog faunus.”

Blake was the most surprised but Ghira continued as he noticed Sevis or Trig was glaring at the White Fang, “What happened to you to make you leave Menagerie?”

Trig- “Hahaha...make me leave Menagerie? I didn’t have a choice. When I was six I was kidnapped and in order to sell me to their buyer they cut off my tail then cauterized the wound so they thought it was just a company’s branding.”, hearing something like that seemed to distress Kali greatly as she looked away.

Ghira couldn’t get over the fact that he attacked his daughter but..., “You said your name was Marshall, do you remember your family’s names?”

Trig- “Don’t bother, the kidnappers killed my parents and my little brother in front of my eyes before they took me.”

Ghira- “Why are you looking for the White fang?”

Trig- “...Cause my Boss asked me, Ms. Belladonna knows him quite well.”

Ghira looked towards Blake who was confused and trying to think a name, “Blake?”

Blake- “I don’t...”

Trig- “You and your team always caused him trouble, don’t remember?”

Suddenly it popped in her head, “Torchwick?!”

Ghira himself remembered the name because of the news about Roman Torchwick who terrorized an entire city but he had heard he perished months ago, “This Torchwick...are you saying you work for a ghost?”

Trig- “So what if I am?”

Stepping with mixed feelings in her steps as she confronted Trig, “Why is he looking for the White Fang?!”

Trig- “Because if he finds the White Fang...he’ll find what he’s after.”

Ghira- “This man...this Torchwick is known as a monster to his own kind and the only thing I can think of what he’ll do if he finds them....You’re willing to let your kind die for a human like that?”

Trig- “Did I forget to mention that the kidnappers were members of the White Fang?”, his eyes darted back to the White Fang members as his eyes seemed as cold as daggers. “Why should I care if some faunus get slaughtered when the faunus never showed me kindness in the first place? Boss and those he considers his closest friends are the only ones who treated me like a living being and recognized my abilities.”

Ghira- “You have strong loyalty to this man...but a monster will only lead to disaster.”

Trig- “We’re all monsters deep down inside, just because you hide behind your morality doesn’t make you any better than us. The White Fang made me the human you lot so despises....and I’m more than willing to show them in return for their kindness how cruel we can be.”, glaring at the WF members again as they took a step back, “You two better run, when these ropes come off I’ll rip your throats out just like how your people did my brother in.”

Ghira- “I think it’s best if you two go, now.”, ordering them as they bowed and quickly ran away leaving them alone. “Kali, please take Blake and him to their rooms. I’d like to talk to Sevis alone.”

She nodded and took her daughter’s hand to pull her away as she gestured Sun to follow. Blake listened to her father and went along with her mother but she looked back towards Trig who was confronting her father with eyes filled with anger. _If what he says is true...shouldn’t I be glad that Roman is going after them? Knowing him he’d find them before I would but....what’s this uneasy feeling....?_

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

[Roman, I’ve been meaning to ask...but are you sure about sending Trig to do a field mission?]

[Bit late asking that don’t you think Junny?]

[I’m just saying, what if he gets caught? It’s been a long time since he fought by himself since he basically stopped once we gave him the go ahead when he became addicted to making tech.]

[You don’t forget how to fight and even if you do it’s all muscle memory, it’ll come back in the first few minutes of a fight and it’ll be easy from there since he’s surprisingly more built than you or me. Besides, with his robotic eye and the cameras he sets up during his fights he can manage.]

[I’ve been meaning to ask but what’s with that? He told me about it once but I couldn’t really understand it.]

[He fires off a set number of tiny cameras to surround himself and the person he’s fighting so they’re watching the fight and sending him a video feed in his right eye in real time. Difference is that it locks onto his physical figure and his opponent in order to predict and come up with calculations of how their going to attack and how likely they’ll continue to attack in this way. Think of this way, a thug jabs twice before throwing a straight and you know how to deal with that. Fight a boxer who jabs once and looks like they're about to jab again when in reality they throw a straight instead.]

[So if it’s all percentages then it’s still his personal judgement to keep him going.]

[It’s more difficult if he fights more than one person since he has it so that it only analyzes two people in order to make the predictions more accurate. Either way he makes up for his reaction speed with calculated preemptive movement. But enough about the tech lesson, what’d you call me for?]

[Just calling to ask how serious you are about going after the White Fang. I doubt this Bull guy is the only one from the White Fang who don’t mind hellfire and brimstone.]

[We’ll see how things go, but worst comes to worst I die trying don’t I?]

[Don’t sound so happy idiot.]

“Junior, we’re here.”, feeling a tap on his shoulder to turn to Elena who was all dolled up in a beautiful white dress as he looked out the window to see the building the event was suppose to be at. [I’ll call you later about the Schnees, tell the twins and Neo I said Hi.]

[Record the song for me, she’s good enough to replace the new crap music people listen to nowadays.]

He chuckled as he hung up, “Roman doing alright?”

Junior- “Roman’s doing better than he was in Vale. Thanks again for coming Elena, you too Murdock.”

Elena- “We’re friends aren’t we?”, turning to the other side of the limo as Murdock sat with two young women at his sides who were suppose to be his plus ones.

Murdock- “Only here cause I’m not missing the chance for that guy to owe me. But I had my boys mix in with some of the staff so tell me if you need something to be done.”

Nodding to that when the limo stopped for the doors to be opened for them to step out one by one with Junior exiting last. Looking up to the large building as he saw other people with rather expensive looking clothing were entering the building before he locked arms with Elena and entered with Murdock and co. right behind them.

Elena- “Wow, look at this place.”

Junior- “Nicest place I’ve seen for a charity event.”

Murdock- “Too bad it's filled to the brim with the deluded rich fags of Atlas.”,

Elena- “Nothing's ever perfect dear. Oh! Is that the stage for Miss Schnee?”, she pointed ahead for their eyes to follow to see a large stage on the other end of the room where a single mic stand stood at the center.

Junior- “Little big for just a kid.”

Elena- “Well she is the heir to the SDC.”

Murdock- “All I ever heard was that she sounds beautiful, hopefully she makes the experience enjoyable.”, surprised to hear some expectation made the two look at Murdock with a face, “What? A man like me can’t like classical?”

Junior- “Just unexpected. You guys see Jacques Schnee?”

Taking a few minutes to look around before one of Murdock’s girls pointed in a direction for them to turn to, “That’s him over there next to those suits.”

Taking a closer look Junior could tell their occupation, “Talking to businessmen during a charity event for a damaged kingdom?”

Murdock- “Wheeling and dealing during tragedies? Prick is a good capitalist that’s for sure.”

Elena- “Don’t say it like you or I wouldn’t take advantage to gain profit as well Murdock, we all live off being capitalists in the first place.”

Murdock- “Least I don’t stoop low enough to use my kid to set a good image to represent my company with a bad rep.”

Elena- “If you did I’d step on your balls with my favorites high heels till they ruptured.”

Junior- “Glad to see you two are so close.”, shaking his head as the fights between the two seemed to happen less after departing from Vale but the tension remains the same. Noticing the lights in the room get dimmer as the light around the stage remained the same.

Then they saw the ray of light as it shined on a girl with shining white hair as she stepped to the center of the stage with the mic stand. “Wow, she looks beautiful...but doesn’t she look kind of sad Junior?”

Seeing that while Weiss had a smile on they could it was one purely for appearances and hiding something behind it, “Well...this is about Vale and she’s probably thinking about her team, doubt anyone would be happy to be reminded of what happened.”

Elena- “Looks like she's starting.”

The crowd was entranced by Weiss’ concert and while they did try to listen they kept being on the move to get closer to Jacques so they could eavesdrop a bit easier. “As always your daughter has a lovely voice Jacques, it’s truly terrible what she must have seen in Vale.”

“Thank you, it always reminds me that I made the right decision to get her myself and away from that place. But now she seeks to prevent something like what happened in Vale from ever happening here in Atlas, yet there's only so many investors willing to help her.”

Murdock stood by Junior as Elena went with the girls to conversate with other wealthy individuals in the large room in the hopes they learn a bit more about Jacques using their feminine charm. “Hah, what a fucking scumbag. Using his kid to get investors with sympathy.”

Junior- “Anything for the sake of money Murdock, it’s the way we live by.”

Murdock- “I don’t make money off of pity and lies, just blood and corpses.”

“Considering it’s you saying that I actually agree with your preference, but some would choose to take pity if they were desperate.”

“Think the SDC is running on fumes?”

“If not it will soon since that Atlas General put an embargo on Dust ever since the invasion on Vale.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Some businessmen who drank at my bar a few weeks ago were talking about it for awhile. SDC can’t make the big bucks on Dust so long as the possibility of a war is still up in the air. Probably relying on their other products to try and make up for it, but let's be honest Dust is the trade that keeps the flow going.”

“No shit, more than a couple hundred thousands of junkies can attest to that.”

With Weiss’ song slowly coming to an end as the lights came back on for her to receive an applause for her performance and as she bowed gracefully....with the same fake smile. Though she didn’t keep the act long as soon as she stepped down to the side of the stage for Junior to see a rather annoyed expression. “I’m gonna get a drink, do you want anything?”

“Mix something strong, listening to him talk is bearable but the more I look at his face the more he reminds me of my rat uncle and I just wanna slit his throat.”, Junior patted Murdock’s shoulder whose hostility for Jacques Schnee seemed to only escalate the longer they stayed but assumed it was likely cause of Weiss since he himself has two daughters close to her age.

“I got it, be right back.”, leaving the man to stare daggers into their target while he headed for the tables where the food and drinks were.

Skipping the food portion as he was looking through the bottles of wine while surprisingly finding a few bottles of whiskey when he heard, “Just go away! You don’t even understand anything in the first place!”

Hearing a young girl raise her voice made him turn to see Weiss Schnee turn away a rather douchey looking young man who looked about her age. She sighed as she placed her hands on the table before tiredly hanging her head in what seemed to be annoyance.

“Must be hard being an heiress if that's the face you make after a round of applause.”

“Excuse my face it’s just very tirin-”, stopping mid-sentence when she finally looked to see the man who was now mixing drinks, “You...you’re that bartender from the club. What are you doing here?”

“I moved here, my club got ruined but business is richer here than in Vale and my mother likes it here.”

“Your mother huh? Must have a good relationship if you moved here partly because of her.”

“If she remembers me that is.”

Surprised but she got the gist from his tone, “Sorry, I didn’t kn-”, once he finished making a drink he placed it in front of her.

“We’re not friends so you don’t need to be sorry, but you look like you need a drink more than I do.”

“No I can’t...”

“Figures, a Schnee is just a lightweight huh?”

“I am not a lightweight!”

“Then prove it.”, being challenged she took the drink and gulped it down which at first surprised Junior but he went back to making drinks for himself and Murdock, “What do you think of that?!”

“Wow, challenge the kid and she’ll fold like paper. He really got you figured out.”

Looking both disappointed and confused while she felt herself being warmed up from the mixed drink, “Wha? Who’s got me figured out?”

“A guy I called my best friend that pisses me off to no end even when he’s dead.”

“You mean....Roman.”, taking in account to remember his death along with his uncovered alliance to Ozpin made her silent as the atmosphere went cold.

“I wouldn’t feel bad, he’s lucky. He doesn’t have to deal with rabble like that.”, pointing over his shoulder for her to hear people who were subtly bad mouthing Vale and Beacon growing more confident as their volume seemed to increase.

“Aren’t you angry when they say those things?”

“Even if I am so what? I’m an adult and I know my place.”

“Sounds like you’ve only chosen submission.”

“Just because I don’t act in front of you kid doesn’t mean I’ve given up. You may have an askewed view on people like me cause of Roman who's too flashy for his own good, but there's a reason crimes happen most when the lights go out. Though your Dad there doesn’t follow the same rules of closed doors and dark alleyways.”, glancing over his shoulder and she followed his eyes to land on her father talking to other individuals she recognized as presidents or CEOs of different companies in Atlas.

“My father...may not be the best. But he certainly isn’t a criminal.”

“You sure about that? Seems pretty shady to me, sides you already know he's using you as best as he can to make a profit, especially since Dust sales have gone down. He’s probably going the road we all take when the time comes.”

“You’re wrong, he wouldn’t do that.”

“Jacques Schnee wants wealth and power, sooner or later he’ll become corrupted to the point that he can’t go back.”

“How can you be so sure about that huh?!”

“You act like corruption is so bad.  It’s only bad for the people you don’t care about if you use it for yourself, and don’t say something like you care about people other than yourself or those close to you. That’s the most used lie in history.”

“I may not care for everyone around me, but I certainly wouldn’t do anything to hurt them.”

“And what happens when you do have to hurt them for someone else huh? You can’t keep your hands from getting dirty kid, so you might as well choose when to dirty them.”, looking over his shoulder to see Murdock still very much annoyed at the man.

“Looks like my companion can only take so much of this place along with your father, but I’ll give you this as someone appreciating what you’re attempting for Vale.”, taking out a card to hand it to her for her to see it was his business card. “Information is my profession, every secret has its price and every price is paid for justification. You want a reason to act without breaking your moral codes? I’ll give you a thousand.”

Handing off the card he picked up the two drinks and left when Weiss had flipped over the business card to notice a different number written on it, “Hey, what about this number?”

Looking over his shoulder to see she was looking at the number on the back of the card, “Call that number when you’re ready to stop being a princess and get your hands dirty like a real hunter.”

Walking over to Murdock to hand him drink, “You sure you wanna help that kid? With her family she’s probably a trainwreck waiting to happen.”

“Weren’t you just annoyed by Jacques Schnee using his daughter for profit?”

“That’s different from interacting with the target’s family, you should know that Junior. Roman is starting to rub off on you.”

“And I honestly don’t know if that's a bad thing or not.”

“Anyway, are we done here? Elena and the girls are probably finding clients by now whether or not they found out anything on Jacques.”

“Finish our drinks and we’re done.”, clinking their drinks before they down them in one shot as the air was erupted with a scream. Murdock and Junior turned their attention as a white Boarbatusk had appeared to start charging at a group of people who they recognized were saying earlier that Vale got what they deserved.

“Murdock.”, saying his name for Murdock to drop his glass as he was about to pull out his gun when they saw a man quickly deal with the threat. That man was General Ironwood and Murdock stopped himself, “The General is in, means it’s our cue to leave.”

Regrouping with Elena and the two girls as they headed for the exit when Junior took a glance behind him to see Jacques had pulled Weiss into a room looking visible angered. “Good luck kid.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“We’re here Ms. Neo.”, Jax slowing down to a stop in front of the camps while they could beyond the tents was the ship before she nodded and got out. “Can you give this to Warden? It’s the data from Sin, and tell him I’ll be gone for a few days.”

Taking the package from him first before taking out her scroll to text when he heard the ping from his own scroll, [Where you headed?]

“I’m visiting my grandfather to get some of my old gear but the way there is what’ll take me awhile. I’ve already told Erina and she handed my duties to someone else so Warden doesn’t have to bother with that.”

Nodding before she closed the door then waved as he drove off and disappeared into the dark woods. She walked in the open path as the array of tents and campfires covered the rest of the  convenient open plain, most of the men nodded towards her while the women seemed more warm in greeting her. Though they still held back due to an incident before when a man tried to “take her by force” and that man became a woman that day.

Short and cute with an affinity for blades were some of the traits people remembered her by but regardless they now fear and respect her as much as they do the man they call Warden. A large man who wore an apron as he was stirring something in a pot grabbed her attention as he waved “Ms. Neo, we picked up some ice cream and set it by the ship. Is there anything else you want when we go into a town tomorrow?”

Bringing her hand to her lips as she thought about it when she snapped her fingers and brought out her scroll to type it out before showing him, [Can you pick up some pads for the twins and the other girls, also can you get some of his favorite cigarettes in bulk?]

“Pads and smokes, got it. Does Warden need more painkillers?”

She nodded with a smile for him to respond with a nod as he went back to serving soup to people waiting for it. Continuing her way to the ship when she picked up the red mini cooler next to ramp before she entered.

Going down the walkway to set aside the cooler in the kitchen first when she heard some noises down the way to find Melanie, Miltia and Gale playing some game on the big screen in the Rec room. “Hey little Neo.”

“Welcome back!”, pausing their game for a brief second to welcome and wave to Neo for her to smile since they seemed to be having fun but her attention turned to where she heard thuds to look across the Rec room was the doors open to the mini gym.

Walking to the gym to find Erina whose long hair was tied in a ponytail and wearing a tight fitting tank top and shorts as she was using the sandbag. Though she slowly came to a stop as she heard Neo’s footsteps to turn to her, “Welcome back Ms. Neo, did Jax already leave?”

Nodding before she handed her the towel off the bench, “Thank you.”, wiping the sweat off herself and Neo couldn’t help but stare at her amazingly toned figure along with her quality chest that reminded her of a yellow haired hunter.

 _Is Roman here or is he out?_ , she signed and it took Erina a few seconds before she understood since she was just starting to learn sign language from Roman during their waiting periods with clients.

“He should be in his room, I think he was reading a book I gave him last time I checked.”

Setting the towel aside to drink her bottle of water before she resumed back to beating the sandbag while Neo left the Gym and the Rec room to head down the way towards the Captain’s Quarters. Tapping on the door to receive only silence when she pulled it open to see light from the room to the left and she tiptoed her way to peek inside.

Seeing why Roman didn’t answer she could see he had headphones on as he was reading a novel. She set down the package next to his bed before she crept behind his chair to carefully get close enough to hear that he was listening to classical music and the voice seemed familiar but she couldn’t put a name on it. Bringing her hands to cover his eyes, “Let me guess, is it my sweet ice cream?”

Moving his head back for her to move her hands to make him smile once he saw her before she kissed him, “You’re in a good mood.”, turning his chair for her to sit in his lap.

_What are you reading?_

“Erina said it was good so I figured I'd give....”, turning the book over so they could see the cover, “Ninjas of Love a try since she said so, can’t say it’s to my taste but it’s something. Can say for sure though you probably couldn’t read it.”

Taking the book from his hand as her facial expression said, _Oh yeah?_ , before she turned to the book and started to read while he took the time to drink his shot that was left on the desk. He wrapped his arms around her body and rested his chin on her right shoulder to read along with her what was an unusually detailed sex scene between the heroine and her male partner in his Master’s Dojo during their sparring match.

Tilting his head a bit to get a better look at the side of her face as she slowly read it for her cheek to redden steadily till he thought he could see some steam coming out of her, “Without blushing that is. Thought you’d be use to sex already.”

She signed with one hand even though it was a little shaky, _It’s...more embarrassing trying to read it..._

“Well you have a point there, wouldn’t be caught reading a scene where the heroine is detailing the man’s shaft down to the tip before she...”, stopping himself from saying it as he noticed her eyes fell on the exact paragraph he was talking about and she seemed to steam up like a tea kettle.

He laughed while Neo could barely hold the book as her hands were shaking while still attempting to read before he took it, “Alright that’s enough literary porn for one night.”, leaning back in his chair to put the book in an empty space on his shelf as he pulled out his headphones to toss them to the desk.

Turning back to the girl who was still beat red when she held her head back to look up to him, “Heh, whenever I see that adorable face of yours I just wanna eat you up.”, embracing her tightly as he looked at the small mirror on his desk that he used.

Other than his charred left arm the reflection of the two together looked almost normal, it made him wonder if that was the life he wanted with Neo rather than dragging her along his revenge trip, “...Too late now I guess...”

Neo turned over on his lap so she was facing him now as her face showed a confused expression, “Nothing...just talking to myself sweetheart. Been doing that a lot these days.”

_Do you still have nightmares?_

“They come and go but I’d rather not talk about that when I have you here. That reminds me, have you had any nightmares?”

 _They don’t happen as much as they use to, but it helps when you’re with me_ , even though she signed that with confidence he could still see a bit of red in her cheeks as she smiled. “Can imagine hunting some Grimm in our spare time has helped with them too.”

_Maybe a little, but mostly you._

“Aren’t you acting cute?”, picking her up as he stood up from his chair to carry her until he laid down on his bed with her on top. She initiated the kiss this time as she could feel him undoing the buttons on her shirt before she broke away and he could only smile seeing her beautiful face, “You know things will only get worse for me, you sure you wanna stay?”

She mouthed the words slowly for him to read her lips, _I know and I don’t care, because I have you_ , once he finished unbuttoning her shirt she tossed it to the side and undid the hook of her black bra to reveal her perky breasts.

“Gotta admit, it’s weird saying I miss those twins and not mean those twins.”, she giggled when she understood he was talking about the sisters. _Do you want them to join?_

 _I want you for myself tonight_ , was his response as he signed before she helped him take off his shirt and started to unzip his pants when his scroll started ringing. Taking out his scroll from his pocket when Neo looked up to see a surprised expression as he looked at his scroll that was still ringing, “Now that’s surprising.”

Moving up to purposely straddle his crouch before laying on him and glancing towards his scroll, _Who is it?_

Accepting the call and putting it on speaker for Neo to hear, [Already miss me Red?]

[N-no...Just wanted to know if you knew anything yet.]

Figuring she meant her team made him sigh, [You know you asked me this only a few days ago right Red?]

[So....that’s a no?]

[Hah, my associates have yet to get to me but I should have something for you in a few days. When that time comes I’ll be the one calling. Which reminds me, is it really alright for a young girl to call an experienced man such as myself this late at night?]

The pause is what made him and Neo laugh as they could only imagine Ruby’s face after his question, [Meanie...]

[Where’s Jauney boy and them anyway?]

[They’re sleeping while it’s my turn to be on nightwatch so-]

[So you called me cause you were bored, ever tried a hobby Red?]

[I clean and tweak Crescent Rose in my spare time.]

[That’s not a hobby that’s obsessive maintenance for a weapons junkie.]

[Well what else can I do out in the middle of the woods?]

[I’ve never been a fan of camping so I wouldn’t know but I imagine a girl like you carries something to play with when you’re bored. Which is what you should find since I’m a little preoccupied.]

[Occupied with what?]

Feeling his chest being poked to turn to Neo as she signed, _Do video, I wanna say hi,_ and Roman chuckled with expectation of Ruby’s reaction as he pressed the video camera icon to start a video call and after a few seconds Ruby accepted for the screen on his scroll to change.

It was dark so they assumed she was next to the campfire to light up her appearance while the darkness was behind her, but Ruby’s initial reaction seeing only a shirtless smirking Roman was to turn away, [...W-why are you shirtless?]

[I told you, I was preoccupied. But she wanted to say hi.], Neo snuggling up to get in view of the camera so Ruby could see them together even though she seemed to be bright red as soon as Neo waved with her breasts in plain view.

It took her a second to piece together a man and a woman both shirtless and laying together on a nice looking bed as she covered her eyes though they could see her peeking just a tiny bit, [Y-you were going to.....umm...I’ll hang up now.]

Neo smiling had waved bye, [I’ll talk to you later about your friends when I have it, night Ruby.]


	36. Sweet Devil of Mine

**Get up Roman.**

The voice echoed in his mind as he opened his eyes to see the ceiling of his room, he looked to his left to see a sleeping Neo when he heard it again. **How long are you going to make me wait? I said get up.**

The voice that sounded like his own but lower pitched as it seemed to always echo even though it didn’t sound like it was screaming made him look in front of his bed to find the shadowy doppelganger that introduced himself as Despair in his nightmares. “Wh-?”

Despair raised his finger to where his lips should have been even though the only thing that could be seen on his face was his piercing red eyes, **You don’t want to wake her up do you?** , pointing over to the sleeping Neo.

 **Get dressed and let's take a walk, it should be here soon remember?** , thinking it was just him imaging but it didn’t look he was going to go away soon so he got out of bed. Putting on his shorts then his black pants and putting on a red t-shirt before he started following Despair after grabbing the aviators and his pistol off his table.

Checking himself, **Looking for this?** , seeing in Despair’s left hand as he held up his lighter and smokes before he tossed it back to him. Looking at his own lighter and the pack of smokes before thinking how Despair had tossed it to him reminded him of the night of the invasion.

He thought the Grim Reaper was an illusion but the fact that they lit his cigarette made him doubt....and Despair who should be a figment of his imagination just tossed him a physical object and the chill of the ship along with the feeling of cold metal from squeezing his lighter let him know that he wasn’t dreaming. _What are you?_

**I can’t answer a question you don’t know yourself can I?**

Lighting a smoke as he stepped ahead of Despair, _For a nightmare influencing death and despair to look towards my end, you’re pretty clueless._

**Says the man asking his copy what he is when they already knew he wouldn’t have an answer.**

_It’s human nature to question what we don’t understand._

**Considering your sins you’ve already forsaken that nature, the only thing keeping you human is that pathetic love for that girl.**

_How cheesy_ , exiting the ship from the cargo bay ramp as he could only see a few personnel either getting out of their tents or starting to make breakfast. Hearing his scroll ping to take it out as on screen it was tracking the ship Trig had sent before he noticed the landing was near the center of the camp.

Putting away and he headed for the center when he glanced over his shoulder to see Despair faithfully following behind him but the difficult part was that he heard his footsteps making sound as if he was a physical being and...for some reason he felt like he was missing something, something important....

 **Hurry up, it’s gonna land.** Despair sending reminding him made him continue walking as the few people who got up early greeted him in respectful manner before he grabbed a bottle of vodka off a fold up table and started drinking.

 _Why am I so thirsty?,_ was his thoughts as he realized he just downed a full bottle of vodka in less than a few minutes then tossed it in an opened bag of trash. He heard the sound of a jet coming when he looked up and to his left to see the small ship come to a halt above him.

Taking a step back as the ship that seemed the size of a motorcycle started to descend before landing at his feet which he could tell caught people’s interest. Though now that he could actually see it, it appeared like some kind of hover bike with the back of it was strapped with two large metal cases with a handprint scanner while there a thin case on the seat.

“That your shipment Warden?”, hearing a voice to see a large man whose tusks plainly told his other half as they pointed to the hover bike, “Yeah, unstrap the two cases and set em down in my ship Caesar.”

They nodded as they kicked a chair where a more scrawny man was sleeping in to wake up them as they fell over, “Get up and help me with this Devon.”

“Didn’t have to kick the chair motherfucker.”, his tone clearly angry but when he noticed Roman his anger expression dissipated as he nodded before they unstrapped the cases and each carried a case back to the ship. Roman picked up the thin case so he could sit in the seat before he opened the case to reveal Melodic Cudgel in it’s original glory, save for the small difference in that it was definitely heavier than before but he just felt happy having it in his hands again.

 **With the only partner you can undoubtedly trust back in your hands, let's go take it out for a spin,** his voice took his attention as he tapped on the handles of the hoverbike when Roman could see more people getting up as the sun was beginning to rise.

 _You gonna sit in the back or something?_ , to answer him black wings seemed to grow out Despair’s back as he tilted his head looking at Roman and he could only imagine a creepy smile on it even though he only had eyes. _Right, you’re something else so of course you can grow wings._

Instead of pulling the trigger he pushed it forward for Melodic Cudgel to break open like sawed off shotgun so he could see inside the barrel that it was already loaded with explosive flares before he put in the holder that conveniently already on the side of the hoverbike.

Putting on the aviators for the HUD to come on and display him a map of the area before he grabbed the handles to drive off where Devon and Caesar who just dropped off the cases saw him off.

Devon nudged Caesar’s arm, “Yo Caesar, did you see that shadow thing next to the Warden?”

“You saw it too? Thought it was because I haven’t taken my meds yet.”

“Really?....maybe I’m still high from last night. Whatever, let's get some food I’m fucking starving.”

\-----------

After driving around for nearly an hour he started hearing the sounds of people along with a loud roar, **Sounds like our test drive just showed up. Go** , annoyed how Despair was ordering him but it’s not like he was wrong and sped up towards where the screams were coming from.

He could see smoke coming from afar before he came a stop as he exited the wood filled paths to see a burning village that was being attacked by Grimm. Though he thought he could see a lone figure standing at the very top of the highest building in the village overlooking the carnage. “H-help!”

A shrill screamed took his attention when a young girl from the village was running towards him with a Beowolf chasing right after her. Unhooking Melodic Cudgel before he held it up and the reticle flipped up as he lined up his shot aiming at the kid, “Help!”

“Duck.”, on command the kid dove forward to crash on the ground as the Beowolf leapt to strike when Roman fired for the flare to move at a speed he’d only seen from a little Red before it hit the Beowolf for a massive explosion.

“Not bad, Trig really outdone himself on this one.”, appreciating Melodic Cudgel upgraded strength when the young girl tripped before him.

Her face a bit scraped with dirt as she looked up to him, “M-mister, m-my parents are still there. You’re a hunter right? Please help me!”

“Sorry kid, I ain’t no hunter. And I don’t work unless I’m paid.”, tossing his spent cigarette to the ground before stomping on it as the kid was quickly rummaging through her pockets. **She’ll give you something stupid.**

Seeing her pull out a lollipop, _Well aren’t you a prophet, mind spoiling me what happens next?_

 **You’ll accept because you’re too soft on children, probably the most annoying trait you got from your mother** , thinking about his deceased mother reminded him of the information he found when he tried to learn about her. And like Despair said, she was very soft and caring towards children and she nearly died protecting children during protection and rescue missions before her death.

“A-all I have is this Mister...please...help my parents.”, offering him the lollipop to him as her eyes were tearing because she could still hear the screams happening behind her when she felt the lollipop be taken.

Unwrapping it and sticking it in his mouth, “Strawberry flavored, not a bad choice. Go hide kid.”, pointing over his shoulder to gesture her to hide with the cover of the trees to which she nodded and ran past him.

Hearing a nearby scream to see a couple running away when an Ursa slashed the man’s back for blood to spill out as he hit the ground. Roman aimed at the Ursa as he whistled loud enough for its head to turn and catch an explosive flare to the face as it disappeared into black mist, “Ah, killing things is so much easier now.”

**Spoken like a true psychopath.**

_Takes one to know one_ , with his retort he drove closer to the burning village before he parked it outside the entrance and tried to look above to try and find that figure again but there was too much smoke.

**The one you're looking for has already moved positions, but they’re still nearby and watching from afar.**

_If you’re some radar mind telling me how many and what Grimm are here?_

**Ten Creeps, six Beowolves, four Ursas and one....Beringal?,** as he spouts out these numbers Roman noticed his red eyes were much brighter than before and assumed he could see through the smoke but the fact that he said the last one with a question meant to him that Despair was still using Roman’s memory to identify the Grimm.

Getting off the bike as he entered the burning village spinning his cane with the name of the Grimm in mind, “Beringal....where have I heard that before?”

 **Batter up** , hearing Despair made him react as his eyes looked forward to see a large gorilla Grimm suddenly tossed an Ursa at him. Gripping the end of his cane tightly to hold it like a bat before swinging when the Ursa was close enough to knock it back before he fired an explosive flare that caught the flying Grimm mid flight to turn it to mist.

Once the fog cleared he saw the gorilla in full view, “Wow, you are damn ugly.”, it’s roar shattered the air as it beat its chest when Roman could hear the sound of people to his sides being attacked. Pulling the pistol from behind to end up firing up the air until the gun was empty but, he could feel the glare of the other nearby Grimm face him as they turned away from their fleeing prey.

“Well now that I have your attention, would you all please kindly line up and die for my pleasure?”, tossing the pistol aside when a Creep came rushing towards him for him to raise his right foot as it was enveloped with an orange aura. About to open its mouth when it was only a foot away for Roman to stomp on its skull to see the white skull crack as he pinned it down.

Hearing the rapid footsteps to take his foot off the creep and flip Melodic in his hand to use the handle to hook the Creep’s jaw to lift it up then toss the body at the incoming Beowolf. Flipping Melodic again to have his finger on the trigger as he pressed the end of the barrel against the Creep’s stomach to fire and for the explosion to swallow it along with the Beowolf.

 **Left side** , turning to block with Melodic Cudgel the Beringal’s fist but it still pushed him back quite a bit because of the gorilla’s strength. **Beringal, what they lack in speed they make up for in immense strength. A favorite attack for them is throwing other Grimm making them more dangerous at distances if there is a pack nearby.**

Instead of blocking the Beringal’s strike head on he changed to deflect the strikes to his sides, _Thanks for the lesson professor now shut up so I can focus,_ concentrating on avoiding the strikes that felt like would break him like a twig if they hit when he heard an Ursa charging from behind him.

Waiting for the Beringal to strike before he stepped to the side as it punched the charging Ursa when he thrusted his cane to pierce it’s right arm and pulled the trigger. Blasting it’s arm right off as it turned to mist before it even hit the ground causing the Beringal to wail in pain, “Hah, not so big now are yah?”

In response to his taunt the gorilla quickly recovered as it’s red eye shined and punched Roman which sent him flying and crashed into a wall of a stone building. Landing on his hands and feet as he coughed up blood while feeling like he cracked a rib or two, “Hahaha....yeah I deserved that didn’t I?”

Hearing the thud like footsteps to look up to the Beringal that stared at him as it raised his fist like a hammer when they brought it down on him when he raised Melodic Cudgel to block but....nothing. Not feeling the weight of the fist made Roman open his eyes to see the Berginel standing there motionless as it’s hammer fist was stopped in place as if it was frozen in time. That is until a thin light appeared from head to toe down the middle of the Berginel as it split in two before turning to black mist and reveal Despair behind it, wielding a completely black katana. **Still breathing?**

“How?”....at this point he was wondering if this was just a realistically long dream because how could Despair who was in his head actually interact much less kill something. But the pain and the heat he was feeling from the flames was too real to be a dream, though the screams interrupted his thoughts. **Stand, you’re not done yet.**

Despair reached his hand out and Roman grabbed it to grab what felt like a real hand, **You should know by now what I am. You’ve stood toe to toe to Hunters and others like them before because you could outsmart them, but what’s the one thing they always had that you could never challenge without dirty tricks?**

As he stood up he thought about everyone; Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss....Neo, “....You're...my semblance?”, seeing the Beowolf coming when he looked over Despair’s shoulder but he already reacted to slice the Grimm in half just like before.

 **You accepted a job, get it done.** Roman held his side as he still felt the stinging pain before he reached in his pocket to take out a pill bottle and gulped down three pills for the pain to immediately subside as he stretched his arms to feel them function as normal.

“I know.”, putting the painkillers away before he aimed to fire at a Creep about to attack an elderly man for them to be erased with the explosion. “Take the left, I’ll take care of the right.”

Without even a retort Despair turned to the left and headed for the Ursas and Beowolves as he wielded the strangely long katana in his right hand before a dark ball appeared in his left hand to morph into some shotgun.

With Roman wielding the destructive Melodic Cudgel and his doppelganger with questionable strength they quickly dispatched the remaining Grimm but the village itself was too far gone to be saved with the remaining villagers. “H-how can we ever thank you kind sir?”

Standing before Roman was the young girl’s parents along with a few families that were able to escape the Grimm. “I don’t need your thanks, just go before more show up.” They looked to him a bit surprised but they nodded and retreated so he turned and face Despair alone.

“So...if you’re my semblance then I’m like Kitty Cat?”

**That girl uses her shadows to escape and deceive in battle, I’m not one of them.**

“You’re still a shadow, what makes you so different?”

**For you there’s only one shadow, me. And unlike them I won’t go away, I’ll be by your side whether you want me or not.**

“Sounds like you're here to protect me, but wasn’t your life goal to see me die?”

**My only wish is to see your life end by your own hand with solely despair in your black heart as everything you love in this world is gone with your last wish being to escape. But I know that won’t happen as long as you have a goal, a purpose you make yourself believe in.**

“And that goal is?”

**Killing the White Fang, Cinder and Salem who you still don’t know anything about. As long as you have this drive you won’t face the despair I want, and even if you lost someone precious in the way you wouldn’t dred. You’d use that to fuel your fury....so I’ll help you achieve your goal and let the aftermath take its course. I told you once, that I would wait for the day you decide it’s too much and I’ll be the one to pull the trigger for you....Until that time comes I’ll be the one faithfully by your side.**

It was definitely strange hearing a shadow with glowing red eyes say something like this, especially the last bit which sounded like a lover talking to their dying significant other. But what he got from Despair was that unlike Blake’s shadow clones, he was a complete doppleganger that would listen to him when ordered but if he didn’t it would act on his own as it saw fit. **I’ve shown you a tiny bit of what I can do and I’ll come to your aid when I’m needed. Until then, I’ll stay in your shadow.**

Despair quickly walked forward and into Roman for him to disappear with a black mist that seemed into infuse back into him. But that’s when he knew he wasn’t lying when he looked down to see his shadow but could see the glowing red eyes, **There's people coming....they aren’t enemies** , the eyes disappearing as his shadow turned to normal with no trace of him.

“Warden.”, taking a breath to turn and see Erina along with several other of his soldiers in the trucks. “Did you do this?”

“Unfortunately no but I killed everything that did, so let's wait for the fire to die down and will see if any valuables made it out alive. Did you bring anything to eat?”, to answer his question she held up a bag while the trucks had parked nearby the burning village entrance so he could at least seat in the back of one of them and eat in peace.

“You forget this,” in her hand was his bandages which made him remember his charred left hand so he quickly finished eating and took the bandages to wrap himself. “Why did you leave so early?”

“Wanted to test drive my old friend.”, nodding to his left for her to look at Melodic Cudgel that was leaning against him. Though as she was staring at him while he was bandaging his arm she remembered the conversation she overheard of a shadowy figure near him when she asked where he went.

“Is there something you wanted to ask me Erina? You keep looking at me.”, caught off guard but she replied with a smile, “Aren’t I always looking at you? It’s one of my job from Ms. Neo to make sure you’re safe.”

“Looks like the fires out,” finish his wraps as he looked towards the village and Erina followed his attention to see that the fire was out left for some smoke. “You guys know what to do, get searching.”

With his simple order the men and women got out of the truck then headed into the village searching for any valuables while tearing through the burnt houses. Roman himself tried to get off the truck but stopped to sit on the edge as the pain came back to him as he held his side, he raised his shirt to see his stomach has rather badly bruised from the Berginel’s strike. “Damn monkey....”

Pulling down his shirt but was stopped by Erina as she held it up to look, “Your run-in with the Grimm?”

“If I say yes, will you let go?”

“I’ll go get the medkit to deal with it,” letting go before she headed to one of the trucks when he heard the sound of motorcycles. Turning to look over his shoulder to see Melanie and Miltia riding on motorcycles that reflected their favorite color before the did a hard stop to park right next to the truck he was in. “Wow, you two are up before noon? Hell must be freezing over.”

Melanie- “We actually had a good night sleep since it was pretty quiet.”

Miltia- “Minus all the noise you were making last night.”

Erina came back with a medkit and first took out a spray which stunned as she sprayed the wound, “Ouch....well sorry the ship isn’t exactly soundproof. But what are you here for again?”

The twins looked at his bruised stomach before looking at each other before they said together, “Maybe another time...”

As they headed back to their bikes, “Hold it you two.”

“Tell me what it is or I’ll make you two drunk enough to have hangovers for a week.”, pausing in their steps as they could hear Erina giggle from the strange choice in punishment before they turned around. “Um...we kinda fucked things up for a client...”

Thinking back on the recent jobs when he suddenly appeared in his head to answer his search like clockwork, **They were suppose to kidnap a mother’s daughter from her father’s estate because the father has been keeping her away from the mother for nearly four months.**

 _Well thank you Des,_ and he matched his expressions by bringing his hand to his temple looking annoyed, “How do you botch a rescue mission for a kid?”

Melanie- “Well we did as you planned and things went well before Miltia killed one of the guards...”

Miltia- “That guard was raping one of the maids, did you expect me to do nothing after seeing that?”

Melanie- “I expected you to be smart sis! If you didn’t she wouldn’t have screamed and alerted the entire mansion!”

Roman- “Both of you shut up, and just tell me what I’m dealing with now.”

As Erina set aside the medkit she stepped aside to let the twins sit on the truck with Roman, “Well it’s kinda on lockdown and there's three times the guards than before.”

Remembering the layout of the mansion along with the rotations that were all but useless now, though he thought about how they reinforced the guards when he tried to figure out their thinking on the murder of a guardsman..., “Let’s go you two, I’m driving myself.”

Jumping off the truck after hooking his cane to his pants to get on Melanie’s bike for her to get on the back and Miltia to get on her red one, “Erina, once their done scavenging head back to camp and tell Neo to meet us at the location I text you. Tell her to bring some of the new ammo too.”

“Got it.”

Driving one handed while he used his free hand to check all the information he had in his scroll before linking it to his aviators for the information to appear better on his HUD so he could drive easier as well. “Hey Roman.”

Hearing Melanie’s voice as she rested her head on, “We overheard you talking with Junior and them. How come you didn’t give us or Neo something like you use too?”

“I ask them to do what you guys can’t. They’re in places I can’t reach without sacrificing time, besides you guys have already been stuck with me and that’s apparently the heaviest order I can give.”

“Heh...still it feels like we’re not really doing anything to help you. You give these missions and heists and stuff but...it’s not really related towards what you’re going after isn’t it?”

Thinking about it he really has been putting the twins and Neo on pretty much off duty with just the random business instead of his personal manhunt for the White Fang. He glanced to the ground at his shadow to see the spark of the red eyes in his shadow, “When the time comes...you, Neo and Miltia will be the biggest help I’ll ever need when I’m down my rabbit hole.”

After a few hours they finally stopped when they found themselves as the edge of a cliff overlooking the land where they could see a large mansion on their left and a medium-sized town to their right. Getting off the bike to grab the binoculars out of the pouch to scan the estate seeing the guards roaming the inside and the outer perimeter of the building.

Looking over the information to find the husband’s number for him to dial when they heard the hoverbike to see Neo park next to them. “Hey cupcake.”, getting off the bike to run over to Roman and open up a small box which revealed five from the four flare types Trig made.

Bringing her close to kiss her head, “Thanks sweetheart.”, which made her feel happy and the twins could see the nice atmosphere as he set down to empty Melodic Cudgel and began loading ammo in a specific pattern as he coughed a few times when the scroll was connecting.

Using his ability to mimic voices he choose Qrow’s since it was one of the deeper ones he remembered, though the girls wondered who it was, “I take it this is Mr. Ashton answering?”

“Who is this? How did you get this number?”

“No point in asking when I already have it don’t you think? Now I must apologize, the incident yesterday was a failure on my part.”

“Yesterday...you’re the bastard that killed my guard?!”

“Yes and it pains me as a professional that I couldn’t control myself. Such a vulnerable neck was shown as he mated with a young girl, I couldn’t resist slicing it to pieces and watch him struggle in a pool of his own blood. I let my pleasure for blood take over the priority of my objective.”

“You sick fuck, you’re dead!”

“Do not worry though, I will carry out my objective faithfully this time. This is why I’ve chosen to call you, so that you would forgive my mistake and allow me to have your head on a silver platter for my lovely client.”, hanging up the second he heard them about to scream before he tossed his scroll to Miltia.

Melanie- “Wow....are you sure about that call Roman?”

Roman- “It’s fine, Miltia call the client and tell her to call her daughter saying she stay as far away from her father as possible.”

Miltia- “Okay”, turning away as she punched in numbers.

 _Drawing attention to the father for the girl to be the most vulnerable?,_ looking to Neo’s signs.

Roman- “If he brings in more protection then might as well keep them in one place and away from the real prize. With this he’ll think he’s the target and put the most guards around himself while only a few on the daughter because they believe this is an assassination attempt rather than a kidnapping.”

After Roman finished loading Melodic Cudgel he used the binoculars to look towards the mansion until he could see a middle aged man yelling out orders to his personal staff. “I called the mother Roman, she should be calling her now.”

Hearing Miltia’s input he searched through the opened windows until he saw her, from a glance she looked thirteen with purple hair while she just answered her phone when a maid had come into the room. “What now?”

Looking back to Mr. Ashton who was out on the lawn ordering the other guards, “Now, we attempt to kill Mr. Ashton.”, tossing the binoculars to Melanie as he stood up and aimed Melodic Cudgel at the right side of the building for the explosion to be as far as possible from the girl.

He fired one for the explosive flare to shine a bright light before he fired again for a black burning flare to quickly catch up to the first one and one it touched caused a loud bang in the air as the black ringed shockwave was seen before they saw the red flare’s speed ramp up dramatically to hit the mansion. On impact the explosion’s smoke swallowed half of the mansion until it finally cleared for them to see that the flare destroyed the entire right half of the mansion. “Wow....that was big.”

The girls looked amazed at the amount of damage that was caused while they could hear Roman chuckling beside them, “I really owe Trig now don’t I? Hehe...hahaha!”, gripping Melodic Cudgel tightly as he stared and laughed at the destruction it caused before he snapped himself out of it.

“Roman?”, hearing the twins say his name together when Neo grabbed his arm. “Sorry, cupcake. Just a little tired. They should be scared now so their confusion is our ticking clock, let's get down there.”

Pointing them to get on the bikes while he got on the hoverbike for Neo to get on behind and wrap her arms around him before they drove down the steep side of the cliff to break at just the right time when they hit flat ground to continue on without missing a beat.

Parking the bikes nearby in the woods as they entered the town while following the crowd that were headed to the mansion to see what happened. Already at the gates which seemed to open and suddenly split the crowd down the middle as Roman saw a truck drive by that carrying multiple people with injuries in the back. “Well now he can’t pay attention, but how do we get inside without being noticed?”

“We go through the back, follow me.”, gesturing them to follow as they split off from the crowd and walked along the walls surrounding the mansion. Until they rounded the corner and continued when they could see the part of the mansion that was missing because of him, “Here should we be good, take a step back.”

Checking Melodic Cudgel while they stood behind a tree when he aimed at the wall and fired for a blue flare to shoot out. Once it touch there was a white mist for a few seconds before they could see that the wall was completely covered with ice. Tapping the ice once when Melanie kicked the center of the ice for it to break off and reveal only a piece of the wall broke off. “It’s pretty thick, what now?”

Lightly pushing aside he stabbed Melodic Cudgel into the cracked spot of the wall, “You sure about this Roman?”

“The ice should cover the smoke,” not even bothering to tell them to back away when he pulled the trigger for the explosion to be muffled and it only sound like glass shattering from the ice but once the white mist dissipate there was now a giant hole in the wall.

Stepping inside to find themselves in the backyard, “You sure this is good idea?” He responded by pointing towards the windows where they could see through the building to see the entire staff including the man known as Mr. Ashton was while he was surrounded by his guards.

“They’re too distracted with the peanut gallery and while the ex-husband is there.....I don’t see Little Miss Ashton in that shitstorm.”, casually walking to the glass doors to shatter one of them before sticking his hand through to unlock the door before opening it. “Ladies first.”

Stepping aside to let them walk in first before he entered himself to find themselves in the kitchen when the one dressed like a chef had turned to see them. He was raising his finger to point yet before he could even open his mouth Melanie had rush past Roman and she kick with her long legs for a wide sweep as they heard a clang to see half of a hanging pan fall to the ground.

The man stood motionless as they saw his neck suddenly bleed before the body collapsed and the head slid off while she wiped the blood off her heels on the carpet. “I’d say overkill but can’t have a job without someone losing their head.”, patting Melanie’s shoulder as he stepped towards the door and kicked the head blocking the way while he left bloody footprints.

The door opened to some elegant dining room as they assumed by the long table that seemed to be already set for afternoon lunch. “It’s like one of those dining rooms from an old castle.”

Roman- “Too bad the taste put into it is just awful.”, picking up an odd looking plate before tossing it aside to hear it break once it hit the ground as he heard a door to see a maid come in for her to notice their presence. Miltia went for the closest knife on the long table to slide it over to Roman for him to pick up and immediately as it flew to pierce the woman’s right hand, sticking her to the wall.

Walking over to her as she cried in pain and tried to pull the knife before Roman punched her in the stomach. With the air knocked out of her she gasped when he grabbed by the neck and held her up against the wall while Miltia noticed it was the same maid that was raped last night before she saw that when Roman pinned her up the knife almost split her hand in half. “Let’s not waste any time dear, which room is the young misses?”

Answering him with silence made him push her up for the knife to continue slicing through her hand as she went up, “I-its the right wing! The sixth door on the left!”

“Now was that so hard?”, letting go for her to feel relief as her feet touch the ground when Roman jabbed the end of Melodic Cudgel in her mouth, “Thanks for your service love.”, for a bright light to erupt from her mouth when she was vaporized leaving only a pile of dust in her place.

Melanie and Neo walked out first to enter the main lobby when Roman noticed Miltia staring at the dust when he tapped her shoulder to get her attention, “That the girl you saved?”

She simply nodded with a silent composure, “If you want to hit me go ahead, but I’m not sorry for killing her since she saw us.”, shaking her head in response and headed to follow after the two as she addressed him.

“Even if he’s crazy and irrational Roman is always right...that’s what Junior said. We can question your reasons, but you know what you’re doing so we’ll just follow your pace like we always have.”

“Haaah...”, catching up to put his arm around her shoulders to bring her close, “You say it like you need me to live. When the day you and Melanie spilled blood you two could’ve killed me and Junior in a heartbeat, in fact it still baffles me to this day that you two deal with our shit and don’t do something more for yourselves.”

“And while I’m truly wondering if I’m the insane one here with you two following me....I’m grateful that you guys have stuck by me this far.”, looking to see only the profile of his face but did see that he was smiling when he said that.

Moving to the center of the of the lobby with the lone stairs leading to the second floor behind them as they saw Melanie and Neo coming back from the main front doors which were tied shut with the drapes from the nearby windows.

Neo noticed Miltia was in a good mood as she was going to Melanie before looking to Roman, _You big softie._

Seeing her cheerful expression as she signed while he tried to put it off, “Come on, a hopeless mother is waiting for her likely spoiled brat.”

Gesturing him to follow as they went up the stairs and headed to the right wing as they began to hear the sounds of people trying to break down the main doors, “Guess the clock is ticking.”

Picking up their pace a bit as they stopped at what should be the daughter’s room for him to press his ear against the door to hear at least three voices. Gripping his cane he kicked the door for it to swing wide open and surprise the guard that was directly in front of him, but before they could react he shot out his hook to pull them to the floor by their neck.

Neo pulled the blade out of her parasol to quickly stab the maid who was to the side of the girl’s bed to pin her against the wall as blood trickled down their clothes. Yet before she could scream Miltia held her claw up to their neck so they could feel the cold metal against their flesh to shut them up.

Roman stomped on the guard’s head to hold them down as they were struggling to grab his leg in an attempt to pull him off, “Before I crush your pea-sized brain my dear friend, mind telling me where your boss’ safe is? You know, the one where he keeps the dirty secrets he’s hiding.”

They answered by trying to twist his leg which made him laugh as he pointed the cane at the young girl who was stunned on her bed. “Do I really have to kill a kid to get answers old pal?”

“O-okay just lower your weapon..”, letting go of his leg as his arms showed his alarm after hearing a possibility. And Roman did lower his cane but twisted his foot on the man’s head, “Well? Start talking.”

“T-there's a floor safe in the head maid’s room underneath her bed. It’s in the other wing next to Mr. Ashton’s room since he moved her closer because of their illicit relationship.”

“So Mr. Ashton was cheating on his wife by banging the head maid, lovely.”, and getting what he needed he stomped on the guard’s head for a loud crack which made the young girl yelp.

“W-who are you people?”, her voice filled with fear and confusion.

Roman turned to the frightened girl with his smile and cheerful disposition, “Well Little Miss, I’m here to bring you to your mother because big bad daddy doesn’t like to share. Now I know you’re afraid of me because of what just happened, so I’ll give you the option where you take my hand and walk out of here like a good girl....or I knock you out and carry your unconscious body over my shoulder like dead cattle back to your mother because you chose to be naughty.”, extending a hand out to her as Melanie slit the maid’s throat and Neo pulled her blade to flick off the blood then sheath it back into her parasol.

The young girl gasped as her maid’s lifeless body dropped to the floor with a loud thud and Roman could suddenly smell urine to see that she pissed herself, “So, what’ll it be my dear?”

Eventually she crawled off her bed to take his hand before he pointed to the opened door that led to her personal bathroom, “I’m not fond of the smell of piss so step into the shower to clean yourself up, now.”, surprisingly she listened and made her way as she left a wet trail on the floor.

Hearing her turn on the shower first before he took the time to light a smoke when Miltia moved the curtain to peer out the window, “They’re gonna break the doors down soon Roman.”

“I got an idea for that already.”, puffing out smoke as they heard light steps accompanied by the sound of splashing water to see the young girl whose wet brown hair blocked her eyes. Roman knelt down to be at somewhat eye level to push aside her hair so he could see the face soaked with water that was filled with nervous fear.

“We’re gonna go see the room housing the slut that made your parents hate each other, so follow right behind me princess. Or else I’ll have to hurt you and we wouldn’t want that would we?”

She was shivering from the cold water and wet clothes but managed to nod without ever looking him in the eye. “Alright let’s go.”

Taking the lead to step out of the room with the little girl following behind him and the twins with Neo took up the rear. As they made their way to the main stairs they could see that the door was being broken with axes as they were trying to take it down. “Mary!”

Hearing a man’s voice took their attention as the hole they made they could see the face of Mr. Ashton. The girl was about to speak when Roman raised his cane to aim at the main double doors to fire, blowing up the main doors while setting it ablaze as the smoke clouded the air.

He glanced over to the girl and any hope that was still in her eyes before has now been extinguished as she stared at the burning lobby with a dead expression. “Come on, before this place burns down around us.”

They made their way and when Roman asked the girl which one she pointed to the one on the left which was across from Mr. Ashton’s room. Opening it to find it empty but that made things better so he kicked the bed with enough force for it to swing to the other side and reveal the floor safe that it was a simple safe with a combination lock. “We need a code.”

“No we don’t.”, pressing his cane against the center of the safe to pull the trigger for a black ringed shockwave to shoot out and the floor to shake when they could see Roman was still standing but the floor safe was gone... Or rather it was below them on the first floor in the kitchen once they looked down the hole.

The door of the safe was bent open and he fired again at the floor to make a larger hole, big enough for them to jump down. Roman jumped first followed by Neo and the twins, the girl looked afraid but she reluctantly jumped for Roman to catch her. After setting her down to her feet he checked the safe to find a brown carrying bag, and inside said bag was several of his dealings along with dirt the man had on his business partners and fellow richmen.

Tossing the pouch to Melanie for her to wear as they went out the opened back doors they came in and headed for the wall they made when, “Freeze!”

Seeing several guards aiming pistols at them, most of them were half burnt so he assumed they were survivors of his explosive flare. “Seriously?”, looking more annoyed than alarmed as he gestured to Miltia to pull Mary Ashton back away from him.

“You’re boss is dead so you’ve no reason to come at me. So why try?”

“You killed my friends you bastard!”

“Ah....the old giving a shit about people other than yourself reason. Thanks for the joke, but I’ll commend you for your pathetic loyalty and give you a quick death because it's only fai-.” interrupted as the sound of a gun shook the air and for him it seemed to slow down as he saw the bullet almost touch his eye before it was stopped right in front of him.

Roman blinked at the bullet that was only a few inches from his right eye to slowly turn his eye to the completely black hand that pinched the bullet before seeing the red eyes he’s become accustomed to now, “You didn’t have to step in.”

“R-roman....what is that?”, hearing Melanie and MIltia speak made him glance over his shoulder to see them and even Neo was shocked by Despair’s appearance. “....It’s a long story.”

Despair turned while still holding the bullet to flick it for it to fly at a surprising speed when it made a hole through the guard’s head and blood poured out from their skull. Taking the moment that the guards were stunned Roman raised his cane and fired for a blue flare to shoot out to hit the ground they were standing at.

Their lower halves were frozen in place when Despair manifested a machete in his right hand to charge and do a wide horizontal swing for heads to fly before they came tumbling down one by one. A rather strange scene of a patch of grass covered with icicles with the headless corpses standing as lawn ornaments as the blood spilling from their necks trickled down to cover the ice with crimson tinge as the red liquid sinked in. Roman looked towards Despair who stared back at him before he proceeded to walk towards him, to merge like before as the black mist dissipated. “Let’s go before the gallery shows up.”

Leading the way back to the hole as the twins seemed confused as they kept a hold on Mary Ashton while Neo subconsciously steered away from being in Roman’s shadow as she looked at his back. He still didn’t know how he felt about Despair or the fact that his semblance is his to-be executioner....a few times he wondered where Logic or Morals had gone cause even in his non-nightmarish dreams he stopped seeing them nor could he ever find the white door that Despair opened for him.

They continued to leave the estate and traveled carefully through the city back to the woods where they parked their bikes. “Take the kid back to the client, you go with them too Neo?”

 _What about you?_ , her face showed her worry and he touched her cheek. “I’ll be fine cupcake, I just need some time alone. I’ll.....explain everything when I see you back home.”

 _Promise?_ , kissing her as he tried to show his best with a smile but he still felt his mask was cracked. “I promise.”

Holding onto his warm hand but she knew she couldn’t help him where he is right now as she left go and followed the twins to get on the bikes. “Be safe okay Roman?”

“Just go before the client gets annoying.”, brushing off their concern as he turned to smoke quietly.

He waited to hear the bikes engines and hear them drive away till he could no longer them before he sighed, “Explain....how the fuck do I explain something I got no clue what it actually is....”

**If you have questions then you should ask the source.**

“That’s pointless when the source knows only what I know! And I doubt a hunter would explain this to me, specially why you, a personality formed from my conscious, is the thing that becomes my semblance.”

**It’s fairly simple if you think about it.**

“Think about what?”

**Isn’t the semblance usually something that reflects you? You say what you want about those girls, but you can only trust yourself even though you seek someone to be by your side because of your childhood experience of being alone. I’m you, I’m the only one you can trust, and I’m the only thing keeping you from being alone.**

“That sounds like I’m fucking pathetic.”

**Aren’t you?**

“Hah...The demon has jokes....Come on I need a damn drink.”, tossing the spent cigarette away as he trudged his way back to the town because he saw a tavern.

As he made his way towards the tavern he felt a pair of eyes to look up and catch the glimpse of what looked like a crow flying by. Looking around  as the feeling of being watched went away and chose to let it go before he entered the tavern that was relatively quiet save for a few drinkers scattered around the small building.

Taking a seat at the bar, “What can I get ya fella?”, hearing the bartender as he placed his wallet on the counter. “Surprise me, and don’t stop till I start slurring.”

**You really think drinking is gonna be useful here?**

_I’m still a human aren’t I? Whatever gets me through it all is a-okay in my book, and that includes drinking, smoking and sex._ Hearing the sound of glass made him refocus his attention to see the bartender put a drink in front of him for him to down in an instant while not bothering to identify what the drink was and gestured the bartender to pour another.

After drinking for nearly three hours the bartender was more or less amazed and slightly horrified as three ten stacks of glasses sat next to Roman yet there wasn’t an ounce of slur in his voice as he asked for another drink, “Talk about a sad bastard, you’re gonna drown yourself at this point T.”

Recognizing the voice as it was one he copied a while ago made him chuckle since he knew, “Well my dear bird, drowning in quality booze is not a bad way to go. Though before we exchange banter...” the bartender brought him the drink to which Roman passed it over to Qrow while ordering another one. “Mind telling how you knew it was me?”

“Pretty easy to spot you when you don’t even tried to hide it”, pointing out his orange hair before he drank and gestured the bartender for another.

“Perks of a deadman, eventually you’ll be forgotten and you can stand next to your old victims without worry. I remember watching the news one time for them to talk about how a woman found out she married her husband's killer two years after the funeral.”

“That’s plain stupidity, but you? You’re just playing with fire T.”

“It’s a cold world out there, didn’t you know?”

“This fire almost killed you twice, third time's the charm?”

“I’m a gambling man so might as well try my luck while my heart’s still beating. But there's more important matters to discuss.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, like why you’re here and not looking for Ozpin....but I guess looking after your silver sleeper cell “niece”, trumps your boss doesn’t it?”, feeling an intense glare on him made Roman chuckle as he tapped on Qrow’s glass while he drank his own.

Qrow drank first before he turned back to Roman, “How much do you know?”

“I know sweet Red ain’t your average little hunter, I know Cinder is the cause of Ozpin’s disappearance....and I know Qrow Branwen is a man filled with mystery since periods of time recorded in his history are literally blank. And don’t give me that look, I’m a rising criminal mastermind with an army of mercenaries, information of this level is child’s play. It’s trying to find out how this stuff makes any sense that’s the hard part.”

Roman noticed Qrow seemed somewhat relieved after he said that and it made him wonder how deep the rabbit hole actually was...“Well enough of that. So what brings you to this seemingly random town other than to find a drink?”, suddenly feeling a chill made him turn to catch just a glimpse of black flowing hair before it disappeared up the stairs.

“Nevermind, think I just found out.”

“Good luck, thanks for the drink.”, downing his last drink before he left the bar and Roman watched him go towards the stairs to follow whoever that flowing hair belonged too. **If you’re playing with fire, that man is drinking with death himself.**

 _Wow, do I sense nervousness in your voice Des? Didn’t think a made up spirit could get scared, but I guess that just shows whoever that was is the real deal,_ about to raise his hand to get the bartender’s attention when he heard an all too familiar click right behind him. “Put your hands up.”

Shaking his glass for a second before drinking the rest, “Only people who say that are the bastards in blue, but maybe I’ve had too much and you ain’t real.”

“I said hands up.”, recognizing it as a female’s voice while he heard a second pair of footsteps that seemed heavy along with a second click that could only be from the hammer of a pistol. Roman looked to the bartender who was cleaning a glass, “They real?”

Just seeing the bartender glance at whoever was behind him and see his annoyance told him they were real. “Sigh, don’t you gotta tell me what this is about?”

“Murder, now put your hands up.”, turning his stool to finally see a man and woman aiming standard issue pistols at him while their badges could be seen around his neck and on the side of her belt.

He moved his hand to see them almost jump, “Calm down, just paying for my drinks.”, and he took his wallet to empty it out as the lien dropped on the counter. “Thanks for the drinks bub.”

Putting away his wallet and hooking his cane to his belt very slowly for them to see before holding out his hands to show his empty palms, “Go ahead.” A bit surprised by his seemingly calm and rather unmoved demeanor put them off, but the man kept his aim as the woman holstered her gun to take out a pair of handcuffs.

Cuffing his hands together as they quickly escorted him out of the tavern and into their unmarked car. The trip wasn’t long since their station was in the bigger town that was only a thirty minute drive from the town they were in, though it made him think about the few times he was actually in a cop car. Whether he was being charged or accused, or if it was one he stole, there was always something strange about being inside one.

Soon he found himself inside a bleak looking interrogation room with his cane being set aside in a corner while his hands were still cuffed with the added chain tying it to the metal table he was sitting at.

He sat quietly for another twenty minutes until the female officer who cuffed him came inside and he figured the other one was waiting behind the one way mirror, “So, mind if I ask the beauty to finally tell me their name?”

“Cohn, Rie Cohn.”

“Well Detective Cohn, can I finally ask who I supposedly murdered?”

“How about a name first buddy?”

“Oh? You cuffed me without even knowing my name? How very police-like.”

“Several parties describe you with great detail...”, noticing her looking at his bandaged arm before she looked back at his unmoved eyes. “...and after speaking to a few bystanders they also pointed you out. So, would you kindly tell me your name now sir?”

Thinking about it but Roman honestly wanted this to go without any more trouble than what was necessary and thought about some of the old fake IDs he made to pick one name out, “The names Gray, Gray Haddock. Now can you tell me?”

Reaching into her jacket, “Are you familiar with these?”, pulling out six photos of a crime of homicide as starting from the first to the last each death appeared to get worse if not more creatively sadistic. “I don’t work in a morgue or a graveyard, so I can’t say I have much experience with corpses dear Detective.”

Slamming the photos on the table as she stood up and pointed at him, “Cut the fucking crap! There's already dozens of people who can testify seeing you in the same area and even leave the same buildings as them.”

“Well if you’re so sure I’m the culprit, why aren’t I in a jail cell already?”

“Because a sick bastard like you....means there's more than what we’ve found.”

“Even if I did commit these crimes, which I didn’t for the record. I certainly wouldn’t have let myself be seen by someone passing by would I? Unless...I wanted to be caught, but that doesn’t make any sense does it?”, responding with cheerful expression and a fake smile seemed to put her off as she simply walked out of the room leaving him alone. Though he could still feel someone still staring into the room until, **They aren’t looking.**

Looking to his left to see Despair leaning against the wall in the corner, out of sight from the window and if the door swung open it’d cover him perfectly, _What are they doing?_ He watched Despair place his hand on the door for something like a black circle to appear where his hand was on the door and Roman could suddenly hear.

“You’re sure it’s him?”

“He fits the description the Lieutenant gave, and his attitude matches what some of the female members who worked close enough near him have said. It’s Roman Torchwick.”

“What do we do then?”

“Call the others to bring them here, we just need to keep him here long enough until they arrive.”, and the voices stopped once Despair took his hand off the door. _So it's the White Fang....guess this is one of those hunters become hunted moments._

**What now?**

_Just wait_ , seeing Despair fade away into the darkness of the bleak corner as the door opened but the woman stopped when Roman raised a hand as best he could while they were still chained to the table, “Before we continue this riveting conversation, can I get something to eat? Been starving since this morning.”

Ten minutes later the woman comes back with a bowl of chicken soup as she placed it in front of him on the table, “Seriously? Canned soup is all you got left?”

“Don’t like it, I can toss it out Mr. Haddock.”

Shaking his head and about to raise the spoon when he made a face, “Come on, did you leave the can open or something?”

“What’s wrong now?”

“Look, theres a damn bug in this crap.”, motioning her to check when she finally leaned over the table to look at the soup to find no such thing, but before she could pull back. Roman dropped the spoon to grab her head and slam it down on the table three times before pulling her over. She struggled and incidentally managed to turn herself over in her attempt to break free but it made his intention easier as he pulled back his arms for the chains to wrap around her neck.

The door busted open for the male officer to come in when Despair manifested from their shadow to grab the back of their head and smash their face against the wall with their blood smeared on it.

Continuing her futile struggle to get out of the chains when he whispered in her ear, “Congratulations, you caught me. Now let me reward you with a love only a man as kind as I can give.”, pulling as hard as possible for her to choke until he heard a loud snap as her arms stopped moving.

Feeling her body go limp he let go to see the dead officer sprawled on the table with her face still bleeding from the shards of ceramic that pierced her skin when he slammed her head on the table and broke the bowl. Pushing her to the side so he could reach inside her jacket, “Anyone coming?”

 **There was two watching earlier and one stepped out** , eventually he found the key and unlocked his cuffs for him to rub his wrists first. “How many people are in the building?”

 **I can hear thirty-six different heartbeats with twenty of them on the first floor and sixteen on the second floor** , Roman grabbed the woman’s body to toss it in the corner before dragging the man’s body next to her after taking his pistol and two magazines he still had on him. “Well unless there's some hair dye and makeup even dressing up is not option since too many people saw my face when we walked in.”

Loading the gun first, **Not gonna use Melodic?** , looking over to his cane in the corner before he went to pick it up. “Of course I am, just need some precision when the time comes.”, putting the gun in the back of his pants as he left the interrogation room to enter the observer room. Pressing his ear to hear voices along with footsteps but backed away when he heard someone approaching.

The second the door opened he reached forward with his cane to hook the man’s neck to pull him in as he threw a left straight to hit them straight in the nose. They stumbled back to the door stunned and giving the opening for Roman to grip his cane to swing for their head to crash into the one way glass for their blood to smear with the satisfying sound of a cracked skull. “How far are we from the front?”

 **The only thing standing between us and the front entrance is the hallway leading to the squad room, where the other nineteen heart beats are,** thinking of an idea as the thought of just brute force came to mind. If he only focused his aura to surround his body then he didn’t have to worry about bullets to say the least but....his gut told him that wouldn’t bold well and he glanced towards the bleak room where the light flickered in and out showing the room with light or complete darkness. “Guess you can’t go wrong with a classic.”

Opening the door to meet eyes with a male officer carrying a box of files when he pulled the gun to aim and fire for the bullet to pierce through their neck. They dropped the box and stumbled to the wall holding their neck in an attempt to stop the blood pouring out when Roman stepped closer to pin them up by jamming the gun in their mouth as he looked to his right to see the stairs leading up along with at least six people on it. Their attention was drawn to him by the gunshot when he aimed his cane and fired for the explosion to destroy the stairs while also splattering the blood of those unfortunate enough to get caught in it. **Twenty-nine.**

It set off the alarms and the sprinklers which worked for and against him since it blurred his vision a bit. Pulling the trigger on the gun for the man’s brains to smear the wall before aiming as the lights in the hall to shroud the narrow passage in wet darkness and he retreated back into the observer room and closed the door enough to cover him. **Twenty-eight.**

Waiting as he looked from the crack to see several people pass by before he kicked the door for it to swing wide and aim to shoot a bullet through a female officer’s head. But before her body hit the ground he grabbed it as he aimed at the ceiling where a group were looking at the destroyed stairs to fire. Sending out a black flare with the ringed shockwave causing the ground to shake before the flare touched the ceiling for the force to cause a cave-in, burying everyone under it. **Twenty-three.**

 _Meaning only seven left on the ground floor_ , other than the rubble he turned while holding up the dead body as a shield when he heard footsteps to see at the end of the hallway was two officers aiming their pistols. Roman focused his aura to cover at least the front of his body to shield himself when they started firing, except since they had to shoot through the dead body which softened the impact on him if they pierced the corpse.

Aiming Melodic over the corpses right shoulder to fire a blue flare to hit the officer on the left while it splashed onto the one on the right. The left officer was encased in ice and the entire right arm of the other one was iced as he dropped due to the sudden weight. Walking over to them to toss the corpse on to the fallen man and shot through the body three times before turning the pistol to the frozen man to shoot through their neck, which blood slowly dripped out of the entry and exit point. **Twenty-one.**

Exiting the hallway to enter the squad room where he was already fired upon, yet Despair manifested in front of Roman while wielding a long katana to successfully deflect every bullet that came his way until the shooting abruptly stopped. Spotting at least two of them Roman aimed the pistol to quickly dispatch them with precise headshots but the last three, if he counted correctly, were hiding amongst the office desks as the sprinklers slowly stopped. **Nineteen.** “I know you three can hear me, so let's be smart about this.”

“I am one man with a demon by his side. Seventeen of your comrades are dead because of me while the rest are stuck upstairs unless they wanna jump out a window. And frankly I’m rather tired after drinking so if you could kindly just stay hiding like little rabbits while I walk out of here with grace so we’ll all have a peaceful night, **alive.** ”

There was no voice that responded to him but he could hear the sounds of shuffling strangely more clear than before whiling noticing Despair  had disappeared from his side. **The heartbeats are racing, they’re panicking.** _That’s not a good sign._

When he heard the sound of a chair he ducked behind a desk as bullets flew over his head, “Poor choice!”, yelling at them as he heard the sound of glass breaking above him. “Just great.”

With the knowledge of reinforcements he figured it gave him about five minutes for the sixteen upstairs to jump out and fill the room.   **I can take care of the three but any damage I take I’ll take more of your aura to retain my form.**

_If that's true then you’ve been draining me this entire day._

**You regenerate aura faster than I take it, so long as you aren’t in combat.**

_Fine, I’ll run to the left to draw their fire while you flank_ , seeing Despair manifest from the shadow in a corner on the right side of the room which was out of sight from the three officers. He raised the pistol over the desk to blind fire until the clip was empty before tossing it aside and running along side the left half of the room when the three officers popped up.

It looked to be in slow motion in his eyes when he glanced to the right while running, two men and one woman were left as they aimed their pistols at him. Seeing the flashes from their guns as they fired at him when he saw Despair flank to quickly decapitate the woman with a wide swing and seemingly blink to the first man to stab his katana through the back of their head with it coming out of his mouth. He turned slicing the top head off as he blinked one last time to the second man but Roman didn’t see as he raised his hand to focus his aura and block the bullet that almost hit him between the eyes.

Feeling his hand shake as he opened his fist for the bullet to drop and check his hand to find a small bruise before he looked up to see Despair stand next to half a man as it collapsed in a pool of water and blood.

“We know you’re in there! Come out with your hands up or we will fire!”, refocusing on the situation as he heard a voice from outside. He moved to the windows and lightly pushed down one of the blinds to see outside of the station was the remaining sixteen officers aiming pistols, shotguns and what looked like submachine guns straight at the front entrance.

**Wouldn’t it be better to blast a hole through the back and escape?**

Stepping away from the window as he sat in a chair to find the one cigarette that wasn’t wet for him to smoke, “The only reason I have the freedom I do now is because everyone thinks I’m dead and no one knows my face other than the White Fang and Cinder. There's no telling how many of them out there saw me....no I can’t just escape, I gotta kill them all in the off chance I can still play the cloak and dagger setup with no reserve.”

 **Want me to hold back then? This way you’ll have your remaining aura primarily on defense**.

“No, my reflexes aren’t fast enough to dodge or deflect bullets from sixteen directions. Besides it looks like you can just teleport behind someone so long as they have a shadow for you to use.”

**The second I kill someone they’re going to fire.**

“Guess I just gotta get lucky don’t I?”, getting and heading for the front doors before he took a deep breath. To open the doors and step out as he had his arms raised for only silence to hit him, finally taking an actual look to see all the officers he saw early were dead on the ground.

“Do you always have to be in a life-threatening situation?”, hearing a familiar voice to turn his eyes to the center where there was the jaded woman he was pleasantly surprised to see as she had her arms crossed in front of her chest while wielding her revolvers and leaning against a green jeep.

“It keeps things interesting to say the least. But honestly I’m actually relieved to see you dear Emmy, specially considering you’ve taken care of the paparazzi.”, walking down from the station’s steps. “Can’t imagine you’re here at random, so why?”

“Neo texted me, it was easy to find you since you weren’t far from all the racket.”, holstering her revolvers as she got in the jeep and gestured him to get in. Roman got in for her to start driving as people were coming out of their homes and stores to see what happened, “Still, to come just cause Neo asked you...is that because you consider her a friend or...does it have something to do with me?”, giving a sly smile as she rolled her eyes to which he noticed she didn’t seem as closed as she was before.

“You’re the only one way ticket Mercury and I have, would have came even if she didn’t say she was worried.”

“Hah....you two really got close back in Vale huh?”, chuckling as he thought about Neo and Emerald’s friendship to not notice her taking glances at him. “....Did you drop your contact or something?”

“What?”, confused he looked in the rear view mirror to see his left eye was crimson red, just like Despair’s eyes. Covering his eye and pretended to take out a contact until he saw that his eye slowly reverted back to his green eye color. “Guess I did, thanks for staring at me sweetheart.”

Expecting some snarky remark but there was nothing which made him look to see her with her eyes seem to only look forward and he figured his eyes were playing tricks on him when he thought he saw some red when he remembered he was drinking only hours ago. Believing the alcohol was finally kicking in he pulled back his seat to lay down easier, “Hey Roman.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you still see it?”

He glanced over to her to see her driving but since he was laying back he could see directly into the back seat was a nearly transparent Despair sitting behind Emerald looking like he was sleeping as he felt his left eye changing again. “....I see something else, but I don’t know if it's a curse or a blessing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just my personal take on Roman's semblance but I'm interested in what other people thought could have been or would better fit his character so let me know with a comment if you feel like it. Other than that, hope you enjoyed the read and I'll see you guys later.


	37. There is Only Forward

Opening her eyes slowly to see a strangely familiar ceiling when she realised she was on the floor. Feeling her body sore for some reason but regardless she pushed herself up to find herself in what she didn’t expect, “Is this...our dorm room?”

Looking down to check herself to see that she was only in her pajamas consisting of her yellow tank top and black shorts before she ran to the window as she heard the sounds to see what looked like the Vytal Festival. “Yang!”

Turning her eyes down to see a waving Ruby with Blake and Weiss, “Hurry up or you’ll miss the super burgers!”, completely confused but she checked her arms to see the scars were nowhere to be seen along before she felt a warm feeling in her heart. “You guys go on ahead I’ll meet you there!”

Seeing the trio nod before walking away to the festival as she leaned on the window looking up at the clear beautiful sky, “It was all just a dream....”

“Don’t lie to yourself blondie.”, hearing a male’s voice made her turn suddenly as she threw a punch for it to be easily caught by none other than Roman Torchwick. “Roman?!”

Throwing another punch for him to drop his cane and easily caught it, “You’ve really lost it haven’t you? Not a shred of power in these lovely hands of yours, must be hard suddenly becoming the weakest thing you know huh?”

“Shut it!”, while he still had her hands she stepped forward to push him back until his back was touching the door before pulling back her hands from his reach. Attempting to punch him again where he simply dodged and continued to dodge without breaking a sweat when he spoke what she noticed, “Just sitting around made you sluggish huh?”

Her last right straight he dodged as he kicked her stomach to push her back even though she recovered into a fighting stance, “What are you doing here?!”

“You tell me Blondie, it’s your dream.”

“What?”, and when he snapped his fingers the light from the window disappeared as she heard the sounds of screams and roars coming from outside which made her turn and run to the window. Seeing the Vytal Festival on fire as people and students were running away from the rampaging Grimm. “No!”

“You think just because you’ve given up means you get to run away?”

She turned to find Roman only inches away as he invaded her personal space, “This is the reality we live in, and you don’t get to run Yang.”, surprised to hear anger in his voice but she pushed him back.

“What do you know?! Do you know what I’ve lost because of what happened?!”

Opening his hands for a black mist to form out of his palms for it to spread as she covered her eyes, until she finally opened them. She saw Weiss, Blake and Ruby next to the beds, “There's nothing you can do to change the past Yang, but if you keep going down this road...”, suddenly she felt a chill down her spine when a familiar red katana manifested in his right hand as he held it up.

“You’re gonna lose everything.”, reeling back to swing wide as she saw her team and little sister be decapitated in one fell swoop, “Stop it!”

Screaming at him as he walked to her when she looked up to him when he placed a hand on her just above her chest, “Face it Blondie,” as he pushed her out the window for her surroundings to light with the flames when she felt it covering her body. Flipping in air to suddenly land on her feet as she punched the ground to see Ember Celica on her arm before noticing that she was wearing her normal outfit.

But what made her heart ache was when she realised where she was, “Why...”, looking around the burning building before she heard a scream to see the man with the white fang mask and red hair had stabbed Blake. Though the flames around her stopped as Roman appeared next to her, “Because this is your fear.”

She watched him walk away towards the red haired man, “Let’s roll the tape.”, snapping his fingers for him to disappear as the world continued when the man pulled out his katana from Blake and looked at her.

“Yang...run..”, seeing Blake reach out her arm to her but unable to hear her as her heart filled with the same angry she did then. “Get away from her!”

Unable to control her body anymore at this point she charged the man in a fit of rage to reenact the battle the same way it went before until it was that moment. Raising her arms to defend herself as the blade easily sliced through Ember Celica and she could feel the blade dig into her arms before she was pulled away.

Unable to feel her arms as she could only see blood dripping from them as she looked up to see the red haired man brandish his katana as his voice chilled her body to the bone, “Die like the worthless dog you are.”

“Yang!”, hearing a scream when she turned from the man who was mid-swing to see with an injured Blake and a crying Ruby as she reached out to them when she felt the edge of the blade touch her neck for the world to break apart like glass.

When she blinked she saw the ceiling as she was reaching out her hand and could feel her heartbeat racing. Taking deep breaths for her to slowly calm her own heart as she moved her body to hang her legs off the bed and looked around to see it was her room, “It was....just a dream.”

“No.”, hearing his voice she turned her head up to face down the barrel of a silver revolver with the one being behind it was Roman Torchwick except....he suddenly changed into a mirror image of herself that looked at her with a disgusted expression as the silver revolver turned gold with a similar design to Ember Celica, “This is a dream.” before pulling the trigger.

\--------

Suddenly waking up as she felt her beating heart and she looked around to see it was her room but she was hesitant wondering if it wasn’t another trick dream...though after nearly two minutes of silence other than the birds chirping she accepted that it was real. “What the fuck was that...”

Confused and puzzled by the random nightmare as she slowly got out of her bed and left her bedroom to pass by Ruby’s room, seeing that it was empty...just like it has been for months. Taking out her scroll to see the messages from Ruby that she refused to look at solely because of how the last meeting ended so badly between them. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she put it away and headed for the kitchen to find her father gone except for a note on the table, _Going to get some groceries, but left your breakfast in the fridge_.

Putting the note down and headed to the fridge to grab hold of the fridge’s door handle but as she attempted to pull the handle it slipped from her grip. Sighing as she grabbed the door handle again and used her other hand to close her fingers around the handle before finally pulling the door opening to see the half filled fridge except for what looked like a plate of eggs and bacon covered in plastic with a cup of orange juice next to it on the top tray. About to grab the orange juice with one hand but remembered and grabbed it with both hands to take it out and set it down on the small table before doing the same with the plate as she heated it up in the microwave for a little bit.

As she waited she checked her scroll for any other messages to notice a few from her friends who escaped from the invasion when she noticed a message from her Uncle Qrow that was a few days old but the contents were simple, [How you doing firecracker?]

Wondering if there was any point since it was so old that he’d probably forgotten yet....[Same as usual...where you been Uncle Qrow?], setting her scroll down when she heard the sound of the microwave to take out her breakfast for her to eat in her silent home.

After finishing her breakfast she went to the sink to do the small amount of dishes there was when she heard her scroll ping. Finishing up and drying off her hands to check and find that Qrow responded back, [One of my old jobs came back to me so I'm back on the case.]

She wondered what mission it was since she already knew Qrow disappeared on them weeks to even months at a time but she also thought that he left almost the same time as Ruby...[...Does this job have to do with Ruby?]

About to send the text but she hesitated....to instead delete the message and write something else, [How long till you’re back?] Placing it down when she sniffed her arm, figuring the nightmare made her sweat in her sleep causing the smell.

She headed to the bathroom after grabbing a towel from her room to strip down before entering the shower for the cold water to shower her with a chill until it slowly warmed up. Rather than stand she sat down to rest her back against the tiled wall as the water continued to flow as she thought about the dream. _It’s been months....why am I thinking about it now?....And why did Roman show up?...._

 _Maybe it’s cause he’s the criminal I saw the most but...._ thinking of the last moment in the trick dream where it was at first Roman aiming a revolver at her but then morphed into her as she stared at herself pulling the trigger....except she clearly remembered the face, that it was disgusted with her.

 **Talking about me?** , she immediately stood up to see through the foggy sliding door was herself from the dream with the look that was filled with annoyance and anger. They wielded Ember Celica and readied a punch to which Yang instinctively raised her arms to block but nothing happened. Moving her arms to see in the foggy door was the word “Weak” spelled out before the fog covered it away. Feeling relieved but...at the same time she felt exactly what the word meant, **Weak** , before she would face it head on if something or someone attacked her yet just now she chose to defend....to hide.

Sighing as she turned the knob for the water to come to a stop as she exited the shower to dry herself in front of the sink. Finished drying off her hair as much as she could before she used the towel to clear up the foggy mirror as she stared at herself. While a bit fueled by her ego she still saw a beautiful girl that many said she was even though the expression on her face was nowhere near as beautiful.

Yang raised her arms to see them in the mirror as they pushed together her breasts. The large scars on her forearms reminded her of that moment when she stopped feeling her hands and thought she lost her arms....except when she was told about her condition she wondered if she really didn’t just lose her arms.

Straining herself as she tried to clench her right hand into a fist but sighed when she couldn’t as she used her other hand to close her right hand. Figuring since she was the only one in the home she only put on her black shorts while using the wet towel around her neck to go down and cover her chest.

Returning to the kitchen to check her scroll for a new message, [Probably not gonna be done anytime soon, but I’ll drop by when I get the chance. Want a souvenir Sunny?]

She chuckled at the old nickname she hadn’t heard him call her since she was young....though it reminded her that he only ever used it when he was concerned. While she wasn’t as infatuated with him like Ruby who was always a little puppy around him, he was still a caring uncle that saved their lives and helped them when things were really tough for their father. [You don’t have to worry about me Uncle Qrow.]

Moving to the living room to set her scroll down on the table before she landed on the couch to turn on the television. Figuring it was because of her father that the last channel he was watching was Atlas news related, though she was a bit surprised to hear about an embargo except when it got more detailed she tuned it out before changing the channel to land on a movie.

Incidentally the scene was of a man talking to his therapist about his depression after losing function of his legs to which she turned off the TV as she dropped the remote and sighed to turn over on the couch. She turned back over with the sound of a ping from her scroll to check and see Qrow’s response, [Can’t be a good uncle if I didn’t worry about my dear nieces can I? But something came up so I’ll talk to you later, take care kiddo.]

[Take care Uncle Qrow.], feeling a bit happy but at the same time a bit sad since now she had nothing to do when she heard a knock at the door. Forgetting her current attire with half of it falling off onto the couch as she hopped off to head to the front door. Immediately answering without even looking through the peephole to reveal a recognizable green haired man she knew as, “Professor Oobleck?”

She asked with a question since the second she opened the door he averted his eyes to look towards the side while looking like he was adjusting his glasses, “Doctor!....And are you suffering from a cold Miss Xiao Long?”

“No I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“I merely ask since you seem to be forgetting a few essentials required for one to step outside in a decent manner....”, cocking her head in confusion as he still kept his eyes to the side and she finally noticed his other hand carrying a plastic bag that was pointing one finger downwards which made her lower her eyes for her to notice her bare chest.

Raising her arms to cover her chest as she felt her face get hot all of a sudden. “Uh...I’ll go get dressed.”

“A fantastic idea Miss Xiao Long, I’ll patiently wait here until you’re ready.”, moving his hand with the bag to grab the knob and closed the door on himself as she turned away still covering herself as she ran to her room. Quickly looking around to grab her yellow tank top and her brown shorts which didn’t really cover her legs any more than the shorts she was already wearing but nonetheless it was more clothes than she had before.

Rushing back to the front door to see this time Oobleck wasn’t staring in another direction but looking at her when she opened the door, “Sorry Doc...”

“No need for apologies, mind if I come in Miss Xiao Long?”

“Sure,” nodding as she stepped aside to let him in before closing the door, “Sit wherever you like and....you don’t have to be so formal Doc...it’s not like I’m a student anymore...”

“Regardless of the state of Beacon Academy Miss Xiao Long, you and all your classmates are still precious students in my and my colleagues’ eyes.” assuring her which for some reason added a bit of warmth to her thoughts as she followed him for her to sit on opposite ends of the couch.

“I encountered your father on my way to the airship and told him I’d be visiting so he told me to bring this to you.”, holding up the bag to set it down on the table for her to peek open to see it was mostly just filled with quick snacks so she grabbed the rice crackers. “So...what is it you came here for?”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, can’t you see?”

Taking his glasses off as he took out a cloth to clean them, “If you were truly fine I wouldn’t be sitting here with you Miss Xiao Long.”

“What’s that mean?”

“The times your father has come to visit the city he tells us about you, and while Glynda wanted to come herself she thought I’d have a better grasp in understanding you considering what you’re going through.”

“My dad is just a worrywart...I’m fine really, and you can tell Professor Goodwitch she doesn’t have to worry either.”, though she said that she could see his from how he was looking at her with his brown eyes that he didn’t believe for one second.

“....I see you haven’t touch that have you?”, following his attention to look at a metal white box in front of the fireplace that had Atlas’ military logo on it. Looking at it made her think back to the time when the man known as General Ironwood came to their home.

_“First of all, I want to apologise”, hearing a different voice Yang stood in the hallway as she peeked into the living room to see her father and Ironwood. “Because of the culprits I made a mistake and understand that your daughter’s image was heavily damaged. On top of it I let my confidence blind me from stopping it and left people in danger when the White Fang attacked with the Grimm.”_

_Taiyang- “There’s nothing you could have done to prevent this General, none of us could have imagined things would turn out the way it would. And....I’m sure Yang doesn’t hold it against you, she knows she was set up and that you were just doing your job.”_

_James- “...I heard about your daughter’s condition, how did she take it?”_

_Sighing as he leaned back into the couch with his arms crossed, “She’ll recover just fine but....she can barely make a fist much less fight anyone with her injures. She was going to be a Huntress and go on adventures with her fists paving the way for her....The look on her face after hearing that from the doctor was crushing as a father unable to do anything for his daughter.”_

_“That...is the main reason I’ve come.”, turning slightly to pick up the metal white box that was next to him to set it in front of Taiyang on the table. “What’s this?”_

_James gestured to Taiyang to open it to which he complied to reveal yellow metal bracers that had Yang’s emblem on it. “In combat with the Grimm we’ve had several soldiers suffer injuries, some of those included broken arms or legs. Naturally they can recover but many can barely grip a gun after their recovery and their abilities to fight have been reduced to nothing because of it.”_

_“But unlike regular soldiers the Grimm don’t stop and we need everyone on board to fight off this threat...so theses bracers and similarly leg braces are used to help soldiers get back onto the field. When put on the first the time they’ll inject a serum with nanomachines that’ll forcible repair any damages done from the original injure at an accelerated pace, this restoration varies from person to person. Sometimes months, others weeks or in the rarest cases it’ll happen in a few hours in the same day...but regardless they’ll experience an excruciating pain for the duration.”_

_Taiyang- “So she’ll have her strength again just by putting this on?”_

_James- “While she will have full function of her hands again, she won’t have the same strength she had before. The nanomachines primary objective is to ensure functional recovery and it’ll stay in her body after said recovery is done. The bracers come in by changing the nanomachines restorative objective to physically enhance the muscles capable of putting out more energy. Without the bracers she’ll have enhanced regenerative capabilities, with them she’ll have enhanced physical abilities that’ll match the strength if not surpass what she had before.”_

_Taiyang- “This is amazing...but....”_

_James- “This was specially crafted for Yang by someone I trust and they’ve gone through numerous tests and examinations to ensure that in no way will Atlas’ military be able to have some hold on her.”_

_Taiyang- “You’re really thorough aren’t you General? Yang will be excited to hear about this.”_

_James- “I...think it’ll be much harder than you think for her to wear these Mr. Xiao Long.”_

_Taiyang- “What? What makes you say that?”_

_James- “I’ve read your daughter’s file so I know only a bit of who she is without personally knowing her but.....”, holding up his left arm to look at it._

_Taiyang- “General?”_

_James- “When I woke up in a hospital bed to find this metal arm I was only filled with guilt over what happened. Because of me I lost civilian lives, my soldiers and my pride as a Commander...and this arm is a reminder of that loss. I couldn’t even look at it because it only reminded me that I’m too weak by myself and that if I didn’t have this arm to help me I wouldn’t be standing where I am now....It’s this reliance and acceptance of weakness that I suspect your daughter may not be able to overcome.”_

“Yang?”, surprised to hear him call her first name snapped her out of her thoughts to turn back to a concerned Oobleck. “Sorry just...spaced out a bit.”

“It’s okay to admit that you’re in trouble with yourself Yang.”

“I...don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then tell me, will you return to being a Huntress?”

“I wasn’t even a full fledge Huntress to begin with.”

“In our time we put the notion that extensive training at the Academy till graduation is the way to become a Hunter or Huntress. Yet what we do is protect the people that needs us which many already do without the title or being told how to do it.”

“What are you getting at Doc?”

“I’m saying that you shouldn’t ignore help when it’s offered when you’re at your weakest moment.”

“I’m not weak!”, clearly filled with anger but the look on Oobleck’s face didn’t change as her outburst warranted his concern as she sat back down and thought about what she did... “I’m sorry...”, regretting it already when she reached to grab the bottle of water from the bag for it slip out of her grip but Oobleck was fast enough to catch it.

Opening the cap to hand it to Yang when she grabbed it with both her hands before she could drink and set it down. “Then tell me, do you plan to stay in this comfy home forever? As you are now you can't return to being a Huntress much less a normal job without being hindered to such a degree.”

“I know that but....”

“You’re afraid it’ll happen again but this time it’ll end worse than before?”

“...How’d you figure?”

“Believe it or not, I felt the same way as you after an incident when I was young Miss Xiao Long.”, bit surprised but her curiosity made her want to listen as she sat up on the couch cross legged with her hands to her feet inching a bit closer, “What happened?”

“Did you know...despite the Grimm’s efforts and humans irrational sense to wage war that we’ve made considerable progress in the medical field?”, he took out his wallet to take out what looked like a photo and stared t it for a few seconds before he handed it to Yang. Once she looked she found it was a photo of the young Oobleck who couldn’t have been more than thirteen years old with someone who was identical to him except for their eye color.

“It’s you and your twin brother?”, he smiled with a nod, “Can you tell which one is me?”

Yang took a good look at Oobleck to see his defining features before looking back at the photo to turn and show him as she pressed a finger on the one she knew was him. “This is you right? The one with brown eyes.”

He chuckled as he shook his head, “No”, turning the photo back to her as he pressed a finger on the one on the left side of the photo, “That one is me. My brother Nathanael Oobleck had brown eyes while mines were blue.”

Taking another look at the photo to stare intently at the blue eyed twin trying to figure out the point in lying to her but she couldn’t...“Hah I get it, you guys wear color contacts so you can pull pranks on people right?”

With his unchanged solemn look Yang stopped smiling at her answer that even she didn’t believe , “My younger brother Nathanael died a week after that photo was taken and....because of the circumstances....I was given his eyes.”

She was afraid to even asked but she wanted to know what happened and why he was telling her this, “What...happened to your brother?”

“It may be hard to believe, but I was not always the professor you believed only knew how to read a book.”, giving her a look when she remembered the time she and her friends let it slip out loud that they thought Oobleck was just a bookworm during one of his lectures which clearly made her feel more embarrassed in the situation but his light-hearted expression soothed the feeling while not quelling the redness. “I had hoped the teasing would lighten the mood but are you okay Miss Xiao Long?”

“J-just continue Doc.”

“Haha, very well....when I was young I was more active when it came to sports and other outdoor activities while Nathanael regularly stuck to the book. I had twenty/twenty vision, while his eyesight was slowly degrading to the point that he needed glasses. While I could fight for others he could barely protect himself. Other than his glasses and our eye colors we were essential one and the same when it came to appearance....but physically we were as different as day and night.”

“So... you were the stronger one while you’re brother was a bit weaker?”, speaking very lightly and trying her best to not offend speaking about his deceased brother.

“In the simplest words, yes what you said is true. It’s sadly because of this difference that I’m the only one still living rather than him and I. Like many others born in this kingdom we attended Signal Academy to set our course to become Hunters, though Nathanael could never quite keep up with me and the others. We were brothers, we were the same so it seemed only natural for me to push him to pass his limits and reach his potential. I was overconfident in my strength and was unable to realise that his knowledge was meant to compensate my recklessness while my strength was to compensate his lack of physical prowess.”, taking a pause to drink from his thermos as Yang thought, “If...it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it anymore Dr. Oobleck.”

Looking at the inside of his thermos to stare at the coffee he’d always drank but felt like he could see his reflection, “.....I thought he just needed one last push....so I took it upon myself to take him on a mission I overheard a teacher of ours was given. He said it was dangerous and like a fool I said if it really did go badly I’d protect him. Back then I didn’t have the weapon nor the experience I have now and all we had were simple swords but they were enough to take care of beowolves.....”

His voice trailed off and she wanted to ask to see if he was okay even though his eyes was only looking down into his thermos when she saw a tear drip from his right eye. “....We found the pack terrorizing neighboring small towns even though it was a larger pack than I heard before, but with the element of surprise and flash grenades I took from the academy’s arsenal we took the lead in our attack.”

“The few windows of mere seconds while fighting I focused on Nathanael and I saw him struggle before two Beowolves had pounced at me at the same time. They took me to the ground and the only thing stopping them from devouring me with their fangs was the sword I held up to stop them even though I could feel the blood trickle down my arm from my left hand.”, raising his hand to look and Yang could see the healed scar as she imagined in her head a young boy holding a sword by the handle and the tip of the blade to hold back two sets of teeth.

“Even if I could fight, I still only had the strength of a boy and I wanted to call Nathanael for help but I could still see he was struggling except the look in his eyes showed that he was focused. If I called I would have broken his focus and put him in danger so I resigned to save myself. I noticed the left Beowolf’s fangs were cracked so I pulled the sword to the right to slash away the other one when they sunk their teeth into my left shoulder even though I felt a few of their fangs break.”

“The pain made me drop the sword and I grabbed a rock to attempt bashing the side of its head but it only agitated it further. I nearly lost my arm when Nathan pierced it’s skull for it to disappear into a black mist leaving me holding onto my nearly detached arm. But the roars brought me back to my senses when Nathan grabbed me and started to drag me away while I could see the remains of the pack were looking to the wounded but there was still one staring at us as we escaped.”

“Heh...we didn’t get very far because of my injury that he feared I would have bled out any further before helping me to rest against a tree. I used the painkillers to hopefully dull the pain while he used his jacket to wrap my arm in hopes of stopping the bleeding but the roars of Grimm took away our pause.....That’s when we were met with an armored Beowolf.”, Yang remembered seeing a few of those at the Fall of Beacon, their armor easily stopped bullets and they took down numerous Atlas Knights before they eventually went down....but two kids going up against one lead her to already have an idea how it might’ve gone before Oobleck continued.

“Even then I knew it was foolish to take one on, but I still took his sword and charged despite being unable to feel my left arm  All while screaming at him to run away...it took only the first swing for me to realise I could barely hold the sword and every time I repelled its strike I could hear a deafening crack until it raised its claw to do a powerful swing that I attempted to block. But that cracking sound was the sword as it broke on contact with it’s claw and the next thing I saw was darkness with the fresh burning pain of my eyes being clawed.”

“There's not much else after that I can tell you other than what I heard, which was the sounds of a struggle with the Beowolf’s roar. I loss consciousness likely due to blood loss even though the last things I heard was him telling me to stay awake.”

“When I woke up I was still blinded but I could discern from the smell that I was in a hospital along with the sound of my mother’s voice when she went to go get the doctor. I learned that Nathanael was able to hold back the Armored Beowolf long enough before our teacher had arrived to rescue us along with several other junior hunters. But....he was in critical condition with the wounds he suffered and he likely wouldn’t make it the next morning. Racked with guilt of being the one that dragged him along I told them to take my blood, my organs, my heart....anything to help him....”, seeing on his face that his guilt and the pain was still very hard for him when she leaned forward to tap his shoulder.

“W-why don't we take a break Doc? Find something to eat before...we continue.”

Wiping the tear from his eye, “I believe...that is a good idea Miss Xiao Long.”, she nodded before getting up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen.

Though as she opened the fridge it occurred to her.... _I don't know how to cook_ , and even if she did she remembered she’d have trouble holding ingredients. “Hmm, I don’t cook much myself but do you mind pasta?”, looking over shoulder to find Oobleck behind her as he was scanning the inside of the fridge.

“You know how to cook?”

“For Hunters like us it's important we know the basics to self -preservation, cooking should be one of those things we need. Do you mind if I use your kitchen?”, shaking her head as she stepped away when he drank from his thermos before he moved at the same blazing fast speed she was more accustomed to seeing the man move rather than sitting in one spot for so long.

It took less than three minutes before she was surprised as he stopped in front of her while she recognized the smell before he pulled the lid off the pot to reveal, “I hope spaghetti is fine, there was not much left for me to use but I’ve made enough for us and more for when your father returns.”

With the same brazen speed she felt a gust of wind fly by her before she turned to see he had set up the table with three plates and one of them wrapped in plastic, assuming it was for her father when he came back home. Sitting in the chair, “Thanks for the meal Doc.”

“Consider it an apology for having to endure listening to my rather pessimistic past Miss Xiao Long.”, even though he gave a warm smile she couldn’t really answer as her own thoughts were still on the story and she wanted it to continue but figured it might be better if they ate a little bit first....Not to mention she couldn’t get the image of Dr. Oobleck crying if only for a second out of her mind, it made her understand that he truly loved his brother.

As she ate her plate her own thoughts began to fill up with memories of her with Ruby....and the possibility of her being gone was unfathomable to her. Yang honestly couldn't imagine a life without the adorkable baby sister shes grown up with, _Yet she’s out there while I’m....._

“Something on your mind Miss Xiao Long? You’ve been twirling your fork for some time.”, pointing it out to her to make her notice she nearly twirled her entire plate before she twirled it backwards to eat it normally. “Sorry...just thinking about Ruby.”

“As the elder sibling it only makes sense to worry, but we always have absolute confidence they’ll be okay because we know and believe in who they are, don’t you agree?”

“You’re....you’re right Doc. It’s tough being the older one huh?”

“Indeed...”, entering a silence while they continued to eat until they finished their plates and Oobleck noticed Yang looking at him patiently. “They already told me there was nothing that could be done and I asked to be alone. I resigned to myself to dreadful silence until I heard someone enter my room and asked who it was. It was the Doctor assigned to my brother and he asked if I wanted to talk to him. I didn’t hesitate to get out of my bed even though I stumbled to the ground because of my lack of sight, it definitely was a rather embarrassing moment since I could tell it was a woman.”

“She helped me walk and after a few minutes we entered another room that filled me with joy when I heard him. I probably spent the next ten minutes apologizing and asking him if there was anything I could do since the fault was mine alone. I wanted him to be angry at me, I wanted him to hate me, I wanted him to want me dead because at that moment I only wanted to take his place to selfishly make myself feel better about the situation.”

“But...he wasn’t, was he?”

“To my painful expectation...He wasn’t the least bit angry at me. Telling me that he was happy I stuck by to keep pushing him where others gave up and how he was able to do something he never thought he could till now.”

“What was it he wanted to do?

“....To save me. Heh.....he even had the nerve to say I was the unlucky one because I couldn’t see how beautiful the nurses or his doctor was.”, Yang found it funny cause she could probably imagine two brothers having that kind of dialogue to keep their spirits up during dark times.

“Telling me that he was sorry that because of what happened I wouldn’t be able to see the world or see the magnificent sights we believed we’d see when we became Hunters. That’s when he told me that if I wanted to pay him back, that I would see everything through his eyes for both of us. You can probably guess how confused I was when he first said that but the doctor at the time explained everything to me while reminding me that Nathanael wouldn’t see tomorrow no matter what they did. It was his dying wish and what right did I have to refuse?”

Taking off his glasses to turn it on himself to see the reflection of himself while primarily focusing on his eyes, “Everytime I look in the mirror I’m reminded of him, reminded of that day and I’ll never forget so long as I’m alive. I changed two people’s lives at the cost of losing my best friend.....but I couldn’t live with grief and desolation forever or else I would have shunned his gift and spat on his wish. I rely on my little brother to help me move forward by letting me see the path set before me and to ensure that I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Putting his glasses back on before turning to her, “Yang, I lost my sight but was given it back at a dire cost in the hopes that I can keep moving forward for both of us. Whenever I take students I always fear that I’ll overlook a mistake and a precious life will be lost, it’s why I’m meticulous in my work. This is your opportunity to step back into the grace you believe you fell from, except this time you’ll learn from your mistakes and grow as someone who's able to overcome any trial that stands in their way for the ones they care for.”

With a serious expression that quickly changed a light-hearted one as he took up taking his plate and hers, “In the end Yang, it is your choice. You’re an independent woman who's capable of making their own decisions. But I want to remind you that whatever you choose, you choose because it's what you want to do and not because of what I said or anyone else says. This is your life and your story, you make the future to it.”

With his words she was left in deep thought as she heard him cleaning the plates in the background. Recalling the fight with Mercury, the invasion and her encounter with the red haired samurai, noticing it was just a downhill from the Vytal Festival and she hasn’t moved an inch from that point for months. Though her focus was broken when she heard the sound of the water stop to see Oobleck walking back to her as he was drying off his hands, “Well, it’s getting a bit late and I’ve a lot of work to return back too.”

She nodded and walked with him back to the front door after he grabbed his thermos, “Again, forgive me for visiting with such an unpleasant atmosphere Miss Xiao Long.”

“Don’t worry about it Doc, I know you’re just trying to help me out. Also....I’d rather you call me Yang next time, Miss is way too formal for me.”, he chuckled as he held out his hand for her to take and shake.

“Remember, it’s your life Yang. You know what you want to do, and you know there are people waiting for you to stand by them as they’re waiting for you to let them stand by you.”

“Thanks Bart.”, taken by surprise from her using a nickname but with her smile he couldn’t but help return the cheerful expression. Before letting go and leaving the home when he noticed Glynda aways away next to a tree. He glanced back to see Yang didn’t notice since she closed the door and hurried to Glynda, “There's no point to sending me in your place if you still come anyway Glynda.”

The blonde haired woman whose arms were crossed over her chest as she looked at the home before meeting eyes with Bartholomew, “I was worried about her....and worried about you. I know you’ve told Ozpin, Peter, and I but....I was still unsure of how you were when remembering that incident.”

“There will always be a missing piece in my heart after losing my brother, but I can only move forward...just as Yang must if she ever wants control back over her life.”

“Do you think she’ll return?”

“I think....she’ll make a decision.”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Setting his cane against the table as he overlooked the assortment of firearms and swords on it before looking out into the field where several of his people were finishing up setting targets at varying distances. Feeling a presence next to him as he was lighting his cigarette to see Neo, _What are you doing?_

“Testing my limits cupcake, Des.” calling out his nickname made Neo’s attention turn from Roman to his shadow on the ground behind him to first see red eyes before the shadow grew to stand at the same height as it’s host.

Grabbing a silver pistol and looking towards a target until he picked out a target, “How good is your aim Des?”, aiming the pistol when Despair gestured Neo to step back to let him stand next to Roman so they were side by side.

Raising his right hand for a ball of shadow to manifest before morphing into the shape of the pistol and aimed, **As good as yours,** they fired at the same time before Neo grabbed the binoculars on the table to see two bullet marks on the same target as they were overlapping each other. “Don’t have to tell me sweetheart, I can see it from here.”

Looking at the other targets to fire at them until the magazine was empty while Despair followed his actions at the same time. Roman unloaded the empty magazine before setting the gun down as Neo handed him the binoculars to see every target he hit Despair hit as well with the second bullet almost always hitting the same spot as the first one. “So you got my accuracy, but I remembered you materializing a sword back at the burning village. So can you just make any weapon you want?”

Raising his right hand again for a black ball to float up above as it strange from a normal sword to a katana, to an axe and other weapons, **No matter what weapon it is or from what time you held it, I can make it.**

“So you’re basically a master of all if I just touch a bunch of weapons?”, noticing at one point the ball morphed into the shape of Pyrrha’s spear which made him twitch seeing it but left it alone.

**While I can make and hold any weapon you’ve ever used, how well I wield it depends on how proficient you are at using it.**

“What’s that mean?”, feeling a body next to him but recognized the voice to be from Gale to immediately push her off him. “It means even if I have the strongest sword ever made, it doesn’t matter if I don’t know how to fight with it.”

Gale- “So you gonna train with all these weapons then?”

Roman- “That’s an enormous waste of time for someone who can just teleport to another’s shadow to slit their throat.”, pointing it out for her when Gale suddenly stepped back to bump into Despair who blinked behind her. **So long as there is a shadow it’s a gateway for me.**

 _Still, wouldn’t it be best for Des to know the weapons to help you fight_?

Roman- “What weapons am I good at Des?”

He stepped away from Gale to stand next to the table with Roman to waive his right hand for six balls of shadows to manifest with each taking a different form; the first being a hand, the second was a typical one-handed sword, the third appeared to be a bat, the fourth Roman recognized was his katana, the fifth split off to form small vers of a pistol, shotgun and assault rifle, and the last took the shape of his trusty cane. **From your time with the gangs and the Syndicate you’ve developed a crude street style for bare handed combat and the fact that you’re ambidextrous gave you an edge that you’ve consistently used using short swords or lightweight blunt weapons. You’re rather advanced with the katana being that you’ve gained a few years of experience by fighting a large variation of opponents that differed from race, age and skill level. Due of your knowledge of human anatomy along with your research of human and faunus vital points combined with your pinpoint accuracy, you know exactly where to shoot to either disable an enemy's movements, kill them with a single bullet or let them bleed out.**

**I shouldn’t have to remind you that Melodic Cudgel is your bread and butter, though you tend to fire it as an offensive approach whereas in close quarters combat you take predominately defensive measures to the point that you’ve mastered a style of parry and riposte to fight those who are physically stronger than you or those who are fast enough to get out of your cane’s range if you swung aggressively.**

Roman thought about it when Gale approached Despair to ask to see if he could form things other than weapons which he proceeded to do while Neo tapped Roman’s arm. _What are you thinking about now?_

Roman- “Thinking what else he can do....Des, since you do everything by my memory can you mimic something I’ve only ever seen but never touched?”

**I can, but it won’t work the way you think.**

Roman- “Why’s that?”

Raising his hand to point away from the group as the weapons he formed early deformed back to shadows ball that gathered where his hand has to take the form a easily recognizable large scythe, **Take the red hunter Ruby Rose’s weapon for instance. You’ve seen it enough for me to make a mirror copy, but you don’t know the mechanics of it to allow me to change it’s form or properly use its addition of the sniper rifle to the best of its potential. Not to mention there is a large height gap between you and the girl so the length of the weapon is a problem. But lets look at a less dynamically complex weapon** , the scythe began to change to what he remembered was Sun’s staff when he fought him and Blake at the docks. **The monkey faunus, Sun Wukong’s staff. From your memories it’s a collapsible staff that can be broken into dual lever action shotgun nunchucks, the mechanics are fairly simple to understand but I run into the first problem which is a lack of experience. If I tried to wield it without any knowledge I’d damage my form which would take more aura from you to repair and maintain myself.**

Roman- “So even with a photographic memory I still need to have it in my hands to break down a complex weapon....”, thinking more about Despair’s capabilities when his scroll rang to check that Junior was calling. [You called Junny?]

[Roman, has Trig contacted you yet? I’ve been trying to reach him but he hasn’t answered.]

[He hasn’t but you realise it takes a few days to get some info right? Theres no need to worry about him.]

[Did you forget you sent him to a territory filled with Faunus, not to mention the White Fang is probably there so there's bound to be some human haters in the mix.]

[Whether anybody believes it or not Trig is a faunus himself and he’s got the scars to show it, Don’t forget that he’s probably the smartest one on that damn island anyway, he can take care of himself.]

[And he **always** answers whenever either of us call him. What if that cat and her yellow monkey caught him?]

[Then he’s in the best situation to gather as much information as possible. If they don’t annoy him then he’s straightforward enough for them to see that he’s cooperating, and he doesn’t need to use his own hands to get what he needs behind their backs. But since you’re so worried, I’ll call his base in Vacuo to talk to his A.I. Jehuty for a check up on him. Though now I’m interested in you, what's the news on Princess and King Jackass?]

[Jacques is keeping up to his business behind closed doors as usual, nothing of note except there's a rumor that the title of heir changed from his second daughter to his son.]

[Seeing as Princess isn’t dead there's gonna be some questions raised there.]

[Not as many as you think, she got pissed during the event we went to and attacked some gossipers with her semblance. If people think she’s out of control then they’ll agree that she isn’t fit to be an heir.]

[So the kid is finally getting rebellious...how was she?]

[The noose around her neck is pretty tight so I’m guessing she’s gonna run away from home soon. Probably find somehow to work a way to meet up with that Rose kid in Mistral.]

[The guest list is getting bigger by the second...by the way do you got Blondie’s number?]

[I know you like blondes with big chests Roman but she’ll crush your balls, sides what makes you think I have her number?]

[Cause before she beat you and your boys asses you sold her information and she likely gave you a number for you to call her about what she wanted. Also she may be in my strike zone but I’m not crazy enough to tempt a dragon.]

[Sigh, alright I’ll send the number later I got work to do. Also one more thing Roman.]

[What?]

[Got a rumor from a couple of birdwatchers saying that they saw a few Atlas ships leaving the kingdom in the direction of Mistral, keep an eye out. Don’t know if the General will pass up a death sentence without Ozpin around to defend you.]

[Thanks for the heads up, and if Snow White does run then pave the way for her to get here. Might as well get all the actors on stage.], hanging up to see Despair was forming smaller versions of various zoo animals per Gale and Neo’s request. _Least you aren’t depressing with them._

“Something on your mind Warden?”, hearing Erina’s voice to turn to the wolf faunus as she came while glancing over to the darkened shadow entertaining the girls. “Just a few minor things, when is Jax suppose to be back?”

“His last text said he should be regrouping back with us in four days.”

“Call and tell him we’re moving out in two, I’ve already got a target tomorrow that’s gonna involve everyone and that’ll be the last one before we head out.”, she nodded and took out her scroll to start dialing while he turned to the others.

Despair glanced to see Roman nod to him before the shadow bird he created dispersed to nothing and he walked to step into him, leaving a black mist in his place that infused into Roman while he could feel his eye return back to normal. “Neo, Gale I’m meeting with someone in the town nearby. You guys wanna get a drink?”

_Who are you seeing?_

“Iris, the douchebag dealer’s partner. Says she's got something for me personally and something else from Mars. I’m only going since she said she’d pay for drinks for me and anyone else I bring.”

Gale- “Couldn’t you pay for everything anyway Ro?”

Roman- “I could, but it's always a pleasure spending others’ money. Now let's go, and you too.”, turning to pat Erina’s shoulder as she finished her call to hear them follow behind her as he headed back to the camp.

Seeing a majority of the tents were packed up save for a few while there were sleeping mats and sleeping bags sprawled all over the dirt ground and he could see a few people already sleeping on the trucks and halftracks. Though they headed for the one sleek looking car that’s lower half was partially covered with dirt from the ground. With the wolf girls in the back Neo took the passenger seat while Roman started up the car and headed for the meeting place.

The trip took nearly thirty minutes as he could see the sunset in the rear view mirror while they just entered the town. He saw people passing glances towards the car but ignored them when he saw something going on ahead, so he rolled down his window. _What’s going on ahead Des?_

**Four heartbeats are close to one another, two appears to be racing with adrenaline while the other two are more stable.....By the sounds of their voices, it is two men, one young girl and one young boy. Assuming the higher pitched voice belongs to the girl, the older ones are harassing her and the boy while the boy is attempting to defend the girl.....but there is something strange...**

_Strange?_ , as they were pulling up he saw the scene up ahead. Two men were harassing the girl to the point that she struggled out of their grip and fell backwards to which the boy got in between and he saw the girl run away. The man grabbed the boy by their neck as he lifted him up and couldn’t help but feel surprised when he just noticed he stepped on the gas to suddenly ram into the man choking the boy while the other one jumped away in time.

“You son of a bitch!”, glancing to see the other man run past the boy coughing on the ground about to punch his window except he swung his door fast enough to knock them back. “This’ll take a minute.”

Addressing his passengers to which they nodded and when Neo offered him his cane he simply waved it off before approaching the man he knocked back who was a bit dazed. “Hey buddy, you scraped your ugly face against my car, you gonna pay for that?”

Before they could get up he stepped forward to kick their head like a soccer ball for blood to spill from their mouth. Roman glanced to the side of the car, before stomping on their right knee, “Now look what you did, you got your filthy blood on my tires. Are you trying to piss me off?”

With a good stomp he elicited a loud crack accompanied by a painful scream, “Get off him!”, hearing a voice to see the other man who was crawling on the ground even though once he got Roman’s attention a chill ran down his spine seeing the orange haired man’s rather crazed smile. “Still kicking? Let’s fix that.”

Taking his foot off the man to open the car door and take it out of park for it to slowly roll as he kept the wheel steady. The crawling man realising what he was doing tried to turn but cut his hand on a small rock that stopped him, when he heard the car right next to him to turn and feel the touch the tip of his nose before it stopped. “You’ll kill him!”

What stopped Roman was someone tugging on his arm and the back of his jacket before he turned to see it was the boy, “Relax kid, I was just scaring him.”, putting the car in park. And they watched the man get up to his feet and hurriedly limp toward his companion to give him his shoulder as they limped away while falling down more than a few times.

“Hows the neck?”, closing the car door so he could lean against it as he took out his smokes and lighter. The boy rubbed the right side of his neck, “I’ll be okay, but...thanks for helping me out Mr.....”

“Haddock, Gray Haddock. You?”

“Oscar Pine, and thanks again Mr. Haddock.”

“Just try and pick your fights more wisely kid, nice guy like me won’t always be here to clean up the mess. But other than that, you know you owe me right?”, a surprised look showed on the boy as he quickly rummaged through his pockets to pull out the few lien he had left.

“This....this is all I got.”

“I’m not interested in money, but rather maybe you can provide me with your service.”

“Huh?”

“I’m meeting someone for a boring meeting over there, so it’ll be your job to entertain the girls here while I’m busy and they’re drinking. Seems fair don’t you think?”, he glanced inside the car to see both Gale and Erina smile while doing a cute wave.

Not evening allowing him to answer as he opened the door and gestured Gale to scoot before pushing Oscar’s back to get him into the car before closing it on him. He got back in the car and started to drive as he tuned out Gale’s questioning of the boy while looking in his side view mirror to see Despair looking back at him, _I saved some random kid, so what’s strange about him?_

**I can’t tell what it is....but there is someone or something with him. It doesn’t feel like a spirit nor does it feel like a shadow type being like myself....no....it’s something more alive....it feels....familiar....**

_Something familiar?_ , looking away from Despair to look into his rear-view mirror to see a nervous Oscar while Erina seemed to jump in on the questioning. He tried thinking about it, but no matter how hard he remembered he’d never seen or heard of this boy, but for some reason he chose to help him out. A complete stranger in every sense of the word, yet he saved him and now he’s in his car.

Eventually they parked in front a medium sized building and could already smell the alcohol from the front door. Upon entering it was quite different from the usual, it was half filled and the customers were middle aged women and men who appeared to be exhausted while casually drinking rather quietly.

Hearing a whistle turned his attention left to see Iris waving while she was sat alone at a table with several bottles already empty to show how long shes been there. Walking over, “Heard you were paying, so I brought a couple of guests. You don’t mind do you dear?”

Looking already drunk she simply shook her head and waved to the young girl at the bar, “Nancy! Put everything on my tab!”. The girl gave a nod before Roman gestured Neo and them to go seat at the table nearby as Erina grabbed Oscar’s arm to make him follow them.

Taking a seat to swipe away the bottle from her hand before she could drink to check it himself, “Vodka, lovely. I think you have a problem dearie.”

“Drinking is the only thing that helps me get through shit like this....”, attempting to grab the bottle but he down the rest of it to her annoyance. “Ahh...well we can’t have a conversation if only one of us is getting hammered.”

She agreed with a nod as she to open another bottle and pour herself a drink, “So...what do you want to hear first? Me or Mars?”

“Well since ol’ Mars ain’t here, let's start with him.”

“He’s wondering if you’re heading for the city cause he’s got a few jobs that he needs help with....big ones.”

“You know, I’m surprised you can even deal with the douchebag Iris. You use to run your own show, but now you’re just someone else’s dog.”

“Not all of us are fucked in the head and willing to go above and beyond to get ahead....besides...I lost a lotta good men going against him.”

“So rival deals and you lost so you became his bitch, how typical.”

“Fuck you...”

“When?”, seeing her visible annoyed but he couldn’t take it serious since her cheeks were red from the alcohol kicking in. “You’re a real piece of work...but I guess that’s why Mars wanted to work with you.”

“So how much does dear Mars know about me?”

“Those faunus from the White Fang you been hunting down? He knows that, it’s the reason why he’s so careful with you....especially cause one of the ones you killed was his sister.”

“Really? Guy didn’t look like a faunus to me.”

“Half-sister, his daddy fucked some furry broad while he was still with his mom and boom, he had a baby sister that he had to take care of cause of the divorce and shit.”

Taking the bottle from her to drink straight since there wasn’t a second cup for him to use, “Sounds like he’s got one hell of a reason to kill me.”

“Don’t worry about some revenge bullshit, if he actually tries to go after you it’ll be because you killed his favorite toy....asshole liked to film his sessions with his half sister wearing a latex suit. Reason why she left Atlas to get away from him....probably lucky she got killed by you.”, gesturing to Roman for him to hand the bottle back so she could pour her drink.

“Good to know I can chalk one bloodstain on my wall as mercy killing then, but I can’t imagine you’re telling me your partner’s secret for nothing. Right love?”

“I wanna tell you about the other thing from me first before we continue that.”, she was unsteady and surprised when he grabbed her hand to steady it for her so she could pour before he took it back.

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“I heard a rumor you’re hitting Maxy for the stockpile of weapons in the underground armory and more bodies to recruit. I know a way you can get in and take the warden before anyone can even raise an alarm.”

It took him a second to match the name Maxy to his target, Maxwell; a maximum security prison supposedly housing the kingdom’s most dangerous and vile criminals, while also having enough illegal firepower to overcome the thin military in Mistral. “Seems like you’ve been keeping tabs on me, I’m flattered you’re interested in me.”

“I just don’t want a repeat of what happened between us in Vale.”, reminding him of their violent exchanges where she was always on the receiving end. “Besides, I’d rather deal with a partner who abuses me than one who's trying to get me to replace his toy.”

“You slept with him?”

“More like he drugged and raped me for three days until I gave him my supply, since then it’s just giving my ass up for a few rough hours a week except now hes been trying to get me into one of those latex suits. Which brings us back as to why I’m giving out on Mars, I’ll tell you the way just to show I’ll be yours....but I want a favor.”

“Let me guess, kill Mars?”

“I’ve already worked my way to get his connections on my side so you don’t have to worry about losing any profit or any assets. Don’t care how or what happens, just get rid of him for me and my ass is yours....and I mean that for both ways.”, noticing her expression which he recognized was drunken lust if anything.

“Heh...while I couldn’t care less who I’m dealing with I’ll do this for you since we have such a great relationship already. But you do know this means you owe me right?”

“Just tell me whatever you want when I’m sober....oh...everything for the prison is on here.”, slowly taking out a red tinted scroll to attempt to hand it when it slipped but he caught it just in time. Standing up from the table as he checked the scroll to see plans, guard rotations, camera locations, everything was indeed there.

Downing the rest of her drink to rest her head on the table with a few hiccups for Roman to pat her head, “Try not to drink yourself to death without paying your debt.”

Her next action showed to him that she was already gone as she carefully grabbed his hand to rub it against her cheek, “Okay...Daddy...”, slipping his hand out of her grip for her to mumble in her half asleep and drunken state. “Wow...you’re probably more broken than me Iris.”

Patting the woman’s back when he waved for the bartender’s attention for to come and attend to Iris in his place after he swiped the one unopened bottle of tequila as he went to the table with Neo and them.

“Looks like you guys are having fun.”, seeing Gale and Erina happily drinking while entangling Oscar in their merriness while Neo seemed to enjoy seeing their silliness. Roman though was focused on Oscar because like Despair said....just being near him he felt something similar but he still couldn’t find anything in his memory that would make this feeling make sense. **Roman, put on your shades.**

_What for?_

**There’s something you can’t see but I can do something to make you see, I think once you see it you’ll be able to see who this child really is,** still questioning the action but he knew that Despair saw things differently than him so he followed his suggestion and pulled out his aviators for his vision to be tinted dark.

He twitched as he felt his eyes burning for a hot second but when he blinked he saw something he’d never seen before. Around Neo was a pink glowing aura, Erina’s was a maroon tinted aura, Gale was covered with a crystal blue aura and......Oscar’s was completely enveloped in a green aura that he new the color heavily associated with one specific individual, _What is this?_

**I gave you my red eyes, it’s why I told you to put on your shades so they wouldn’t see the change. But I can see aura since my own being is based around your aura. Now seeing this the only one who I can pinpoint such aura is-**

_Ozpin.....Does this mean he’s near?_

**I can’t confirm whether he's close or not, but I can confirm that the boy is actively being connected to by someone and has been for some time. So if it is that man, then he’s in constant contact with him, likely guiding the boy to something.**

Noticing Oscar looking towards him to which Roman put on a smile before drinking his bottle, _If it's Ozpin then it’s probably related to Cinder and Salem..._ , he glanced to the side to see two elderly men get up and leave from a table that had a chessboard.

Leaving the bottle on the table to walk around and tap Oscar’s back, “I’m gonna borrow Oz for a bit girls, come on.”

“Okay.”, escaping the drunken wolves to follow Roman, “You ever play chess Oz?”

“No, I’ve never had the chance.”, gesturing him to sit on one end while Roman sat on the other and rearranged the board. “Need me to explain?”, noticing it took nearly a minute for Oscar to answer and his facial expression looked like he was listening to someone. “I-i’ve seen my father play once and I remember the pieces.”

Roman pretended to study the board when he was actually trying to remember the first time he met Ozpin and he made him play a game of chess that ended in a draw between them. Committing to reenact the draw he made the same move he did last time. “Your turn Oz.”

Watching him carefully as the green aura surrounding Oscar seemed to flicker as if it was turned on before it dimmed back to normal with Oscar staring at the board for a few more seconds but moved the same piece in the same spot like Ozpin did before. “So, you from around here kid?”

“My farm is quite far from here, I’m....actually on a journey.”

“Journey huh, looking to find yourself?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“Doesn’t look you’re geared for a journey, what happens when you encounter big and uglies?”

“I have...ways to get around them.”, as they played he kept his focus on Oscar to see that throughout their conversation, there was always a flicker which seemed more like a pulse as the green aura brightened whenever he answered.

“So where does this grand journey lead Oz?”

“The city of Mistral.”

“Hitting the main city huh? You ready for the big leagues Oscar?”

“I...don’t know if I’m ready, but I’m more than ready to try.”

“You got confidence, that’s a good thing to have.”, moving his piece to finish the game with a draw in the same exact way as before before standing up. “Well think it’s time to head out for me, but thanks for the help Oscar.”

Taking out his wallet to toss it to Oscar for him to fumble before catching it, “W-wait.”

Walking back towards the table to pick up a drunk Erina in a princess carry while Neo who was the only one sober helped Gale walk, “Keep it, you’re not gonna get to the city with only the cash you got. Besides....I owe him this much at least.”, feeling his eyes revert back to normal as he looked back to see Oscar but he thought he saw a transparent Ozpin behind him. “See you in the big city.”

\----------

Dropping off the drunken Erina in her room on the ship as he passed by the twins room to see them soundly asleep. While he remembered Neo was gonna stay with Gale a bit since she threw up he headed back to his quarters. Though the second he entered he was hit with a pinging sound to notice the screen on his pinging with red alert screen.

Walking over to sit in the chair before tapping his desk for the keyboard to appear so he could press enter to answer the alert. It showed up a video screen that was high above the land, he brightened the feed and could see small dots moving at rapid speeds. He zoomed in and enhanced the feed to see a familiar place, “Is that...”

 **It's the burnt village where we encountered that gorilla Grimm,** inputting a command to move the drone for the feed to be much closer and have a better view of the destroyed village. But what took his attention was seeing Ruby with Jaune, Ren and Nora as they watched Qrow fight an unknown man.

Focusing on the unknown man reminded him of the one he saw at the top of the tallest building and that his build was similar to the silhouette he saw but he still didn’t recognize who this attacker was. He was rather unsurprised to see Qrow’s fighting prowess since he knew the man was a veteran hunter yet he noticed Ruby’s attempts to stay in the fight which lead to Qrow defending her but left him more open to attacks, “...If this keeps up he’s gonna get hit.”

**What do you mean?**

“It doesn’t look like Qrow’s having a hard time, but it doesn’t look like he’s having an easy time fighting this guy either. Everytime Red tries to tag in he leaves himself open trying to defend her.”

 **Then it’d make more sense for her to attack from long distance,** and if on cue he saw Ruby jump onto a building as her scythe changed forms to be a sniper rifle as she started to aim. Except he could see she was having trouble as she didn’t pull the trigger and looked annoyed. The fight continued and it looked Qrow was bound to be the victor when Red leaped in once again and while Qrow pulled her away from danger it felt him exposed as the man swiped with his scorpion tail to slash Qrow. With anger he saw Ruby cut off their tail before turning back to Qrow.

The drone was too far to record their voices but he could see them talking when the pinging alert appeared again. The screen displayed a map where Ruby and her group were at the center depicted as neutral green dots when to their left side was a large red swarm of red dots. “Shit, their fight attracted a horde.”

Seeing the group started to run away once they noticed the horde and he put the drone on auto to follow after Ruby. Jaune and Ren were busy helping Qrow move while Ruby and Nora were fighting through Grimm in their way. “Des, how far can you go?”

 **There's no need to-** , seeing them stop for a second for Ruby to look like she was shouting at them to go in one direction before she fired at the horde to go off into another direction and the map showed the red swarm moving their direction towards Ruby. “I asked how far?”

 **.....I’m still tethered to you but I can go farther away if I take more aura from you. Except if I take too muc-,** Roman simply pointed in the direction, “I don’t care, just go!”

**As you wish....**

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Pulling the trigger to propel herself forward as she swung to slice through two beowolves blocking her path before stabbing the blade into the ground to stop herself mid flight.  But while she was still in the air she heard and looked back to see an upside down Ursa charging at her; gripping Crescent Rose firmly and pulled as she pulled the trigger for the shot to spin her and slice the Ursa up the middle.

Finally landing on her feet, “Huff...huff.”, taking a chance to breath with the sound of roars along with the trembling earth beneath her feet made her look in front of her. “They just keep coming...”, turning back around as she changed Crescent into it’s gun form before she started running.

She knew using her semblance would let her escape from their pursuit but she wasn’t far enough from the others and because of  Uncle Qrow’s....With his injury in mind she was lost in thought but when she heard a tree branch snap she immediately raised up Crescent to block the sudden fist that sent her back. Once she landed on her feet she saw it was a Beringal who struck her along with two Ursas hanging close to its side.

Hearing the massive horde still behind her she could only charge forward; which she did by firing Crescent Rose to boost her when the two Ursas charged at her. With her momentum she spun to throw her scythe ahead of her for it to fly at high speed and slice through both of them with ease before she used her semblance to catch up to it. Grabbing it just in time to pull the trigger and boost her speed two fold as she readied to strike the Beringal with a single swing.

Except the Beringal raised its fists before bringing them down like a hammer for a chunk of the ground to jump up in between them. Ruby was already mid swing and broke through the rock to see behind it the Beringal winded up its right arm; she could only grit her teeth as the punch slammed her back into the ground and she eventually rolled to a stop. Hearing the Beringal roar as it beat its chest while she could feel her right arm was a feeling a bit numb for taking the brunt of the punch, but she still reached for Crescent Rose to help her stand up.

Looking back to see several Beowolves had already caught up while her attention moved back to the Beringal who patiently watched her. “I can’t stop here.”

Thinking of a way when she moved just as A Beowulf tried to attack from behind. She wound up her scythe to catch the Grimm before sending it flying to the Beringal. Firing Crescent to propel her again but aimed lower to cut its legs as it had to knock away the Beowulf.

Once she got past she started running and looked back to see the Beringal beat the ground when an Armored Beowulf came upon it.

It looked like they were talking with gestures when it shocked her to see the wolf got on all fours before the gorilla climbed on its back. Ruby looked ahead and began to cut the trees for them to tumble and hopefully slow down her pursuers when she heard a howl. Hitting the brakes to stop in her tracks as she looked forward to see a whimpering Ursa on the ground when I silhouette stepped on its skull for the Ursa to disappear into nothing.

She was about to call out to them believing they were another hunter when she felt a sudden chill hit her when the silhouette turned to meet their glowing red eyes. Now that she wasn’t moving and she could focus her vision she noticed that they weren’t dark because of the night....but rather their entire body was completely black...like a Grimm. _A person shaped Grimm?!_ _Where did it come from? Why did it kill the Ursa?_

Too many questions filled her thoughts when the silhouette walked a bit towards her then stopped to stand from her as their eyes matched. They placed their hands together before bringing them apart for Ruby to see them form a shadow shaped as an abnormal lengthy longsword. Ruby instinctively readied her stance after seeing the weapon but they simply stood motionless staring at her with no motion from their right hand that was wielding the sword. _Is he waiting for me?_

With neither making so much as an inch of movement did she their eyes flicker when the voice came at her, **Get down** , she responded by diving as she felt a rush of air above her. As she did she turned over raising her scythe ready to block but instead saw the arm of the silhouette swing its long sword to knock back four creeps that she didn’t hear about to attack her.

Seeing the creeps disappear into a black mist one by one before shadow turned back to her and stared at her as it offered its hand. She was hesitant but for some reason she thought the red eyes dimmed and didn’t look as menacing as she took the hand. The touch was strange, it certainly didn’t feel like a person when she grabbed their hand but it felt like it would break if she just squeezed.

After being helped up to her feet they heard a loud crash and turned their attention back to the toppled trees where the Armored Beowolf had just landed with the Beringal still on its back and a few Ursas by their side. The Beringal grabbed one of the spikes on the Ursa and with its strength snapped it off before tossing it straight at Ruby. But Ruby was blocked with darkness as the shadow stepped in front of her and raised its left arm, yet when the spike hit their hand their left arm shattered into red shards with the sound similar to glass breaking. **Run.**

Seeing them disappear as she blinked to see them reappear right in front of Grimm and quickly dispatch the Ursas with their sword as if they were cutting butter. Though she was focused on their missing left arm as it pulsed red and looked like it was regenerating but it shattered into red shards which reminded her of when a person’s aura broke when they take enough damage. _Is it someone’s semblance?_

 **I said run!** , hearing their voice in her head as they screamed at her when she saw them clash with Armored’s claw for the Beringal to strike and knocked him back with the sound of glass shattering again. **Go!**

Seeing them turn to reveal half their head had broken off from the strike with only one red eye looking at her before they formed another sword and charged. Something made her feel like she should stay to fight so she could find out what and who he is but she remembered Uncle Qrow and them must be waiting for you, “I’m sorry!”

They watched her use her semblance and she disappeared into the night before looking back to the two Grimm as the rest of the horde had come behind them. But he dropped to one knee as he clutched his chest with a crack shining out a red light where his heart was, **Time’s up.**


	38. Heartache

After drying Gale’s hair with a towel she helped the still slightly drunk girl to walk towards her bed, “He..hey , wana hear a secet?”, cocking her head to look at the reddish girl who continued to stumble, “I luv Ro....”

A brief pause let her mind wander when the drunken voice spoke again, “Buttt....I luv Neo too..and Melly...and Milly too....I luv Eri too...but don’t tell her that...”

With a smile on her face she signed even though she figured Gale wasn’t paying attention, _I love you too Gale, and I think Erina already knows_. Gale flopped on the bed and mumbled words Neo couldn’t really hear while she at least covered her up with the blanket.

Seeing and hearing that Gale had fallen asleep she headed for the door to turn off the lights as she left the room. She checked the time on her scroll with the thought that Roman was probably still up reading one of his books, which she was happy that he was doing something other than constantly working.

_It really is better that we left Vale huh?_ , thinking to herself when she could remember the flames when she had awoken inside the escape pod. Though pushing those depressing thoughts away she headed down the corridor as she made her way to Roman’s room.

Once at the door she pressed the door to hear nothing, _Did he already go to sleep?_ , then opened the door to find that his bed was empty. She checked his study and he wasn’t there either but her attention was taken by the screen on his desk next to the bed. Thinking it was strange that it was an overhead shot of a forest and she stepped closer to get a better look when she heard something wet under her right shoe.

Since the room was rather dark she flipped up the switch on the lamp next to the screen to illuminate the room as she looked down and her eyes narrowed on the dark red puddle on the floor. Stepping back as her shoe smeared the liquid on the floor and she turned to see that it was a blood trail with small droplets leading out of the room.

Running to open the door and now she finally payed attention to the floor to see the blood trail going in the opposite direction she came from. Following the trail until she ended up in the showers to see Roman on the floor at the sink past the stalls. Rushing to him to stop dead in her tracks when she looked at the sink to see the bowl was filled with blood before her attention turn to him.

Blood was dripping from his nose and from his lips as he was clutching his chest, to which even though she couldn’t talk she still tried to talk to him, _Roman?! What’s wrong? What happened?!_

Trying to hold on to him as he was still tightly clutching his chest, “F-fuck....feels like my insides are being crushed.....” She didn’t understand what he was talking about but with how hard he was clutching and the amount of blood he was in immense pain.

Though a sudden thought made her remember that some of the convicts were former doctors and she pulled out her scroll about to text when she felt something touch her shoulder, **Don’t.**

The chilling voice made her turn and look up to see Despair, except his form looked broken. Missing his left arm, the left half of his head was missing, claw marks on his legs and a crack in his chest....as if he was beginning to breakdown. “W-what the fuck is this Des?!”

**I warned you, but you chose to ignore it so now you know this is the consequence of trying to go beyond your limits for your faith. By pushing me to go further you used your aura to the point that you’ve already broken the barrier around you, but also out of sheer will you continued to make me press forward so the repercussions of that are what your feeling now.**

“Give me the damn lecture later, tell me how to fix this!”, turning over as he coughed out blood which Neo felt was warm since it dripped on her legs. She looked to Despair as the shadow figure knelt down, **This should deal with the crushing feeling, but the pain will remain with you for a couple of hours,** seeing him place his cracked right hand over Roman’s heart to see a black mist circulate around his arm into her lover.

But it was different than the times she saw Despair normally return to him, for one he’d usually return almost instantly by just walking into Roman...yet now it looked like he was transferring something. That's when she heard the cracking to glance and see from his legs that the shadow figure was breaking like glass, **I won’t be able to assist you for at least a few days because that’ll be the time when your body fully recuperates from the painful experience. But even then don’t think of doing something like this anytime again soon, because the consequence will be harsher than now. Good bye.**

With his final piece the shadow cracked to pieces that slowly dissolved to nothing while Roman still held on to himself but she could tell from the expression on his face that he was better than before. _Are you okay now?_ , gently pressing her hands on the sides of his head as she looked down to see himself use his shirt to wipe the blood from his lips and his nose. “Well, he was right it still hurts like hell....but at least the crushing is gone.”

_What happened?_

“Lets just say....I saw something red and went blind a bit.”, and just with the mention of the color she knew he was talking about Ruby. It reminded her of the screen in his room and figured that he must have seen her with one of his flying drones in the forest. _Can you stand?_

Raising his head off her knees for her to get up and he pushed him up with her help since the floor was a bit slippery with his blood. Eventually standing on his two feet even though he was a bit wobbly and used the counter to lean on, “Even though this hurt like a bitch...guess its good I experienced this now than later.”

_He could have told you that this would happen if you pushed too far._

“He only knows what I know so I don’t think he could have known that it was this bad until it actually happened. But now he’ll probably try to find ways to prevent me from overextending cause I’m dead if I ever experience a rebound in a fight.”

_That’s what you have me for_ , trying to cheer him up with a cute smile as she pointed to herself which succeeded since he chuckled from it. “I know I can rely on you sweetheart but after tonight I still got a lot to learn about this whole semblance thing...which reminds me, when did you develop yours Neo?”

Seeing her think to herself as he took off his bloody shirt and tossed it into the trashcan, _It must have been when my home was attacked by Grimm......My mom told me to run as a Beowolf attacked her and the only thing running through my mind was that I wanted to run away. But I frozen in place when one of them tried to attack me so I cowered and covered my eyes with my hands. The next thing that happened was the sound of glass shattering and I found myself somewhere else but I could see the smoke from my home in the sky to know that I wasn’t very far._

“So yours came when you were in a life or death situation....”

_Why do you ask now?_

Pulling out his lighter and pack after he spit out some blood still left in his mouth in the bloody sink before lighting one, “It's crossed my mind that Despair wasn’t the beginning of my semblance.”

_What do you mean?_

“...Remember how I said I was haunted by my shadows before the invasion? Back then I thought it was just my imagination manifesting the Grim Reaper that was taunting me...but I remember before the Alpha grabbed me that he lit my cigarette.”

_A figment of your imagination couldn’t have done that but..._

“But something actually there could do something like that. It’s making me wonder that the one who comes out is related to the one whose dominate in my mind....”, Neo lost track at that point as she didn’t understand what he meant and it took him a few seconds to notice that she was confused about the matter.

It didn’t take long for him to explain to her what he considered his moments of insanity where he talked to younger versions of him along with the dreams and nightmares he had before of Despair. Though she understood the most when he mentioned a silent and unmoved Grim Reaper in his nightmare. _So you think the Grim Reaper that you were seeing was actually part of your semblance?_

“Could have been or I’m just talking crazy because I was too drunk and drugged up back then to **not** have delusions and hallucinations.”, stumbling for a second for Neo to move to his side to help him get a hold on the counter again.

_Come on, you need to rest._

“No, someone’s gotta clean this stuff up anyway. You go ahead and go to sleep, we’re still going to Maxy tomorrow.”

_If we’re still doing it then you gotta rest, you can barely stand now_ , tugging on his arm to pull him but he kept still to sticking to the sink. “It’s okay.....besides I’m afraid after throwing up this much blood if I sleep I won’t wake up. I’ll just take medicine, find something to eat and probably read till it’s time okay? I promise I won’t do anything....well not like I really can do anything anyway.”

_....You promise?_ , holding out her hand to extend her pinky for him to hold back from laughing but he smiled as he reached out his hand to link pinkies. “I promise.”

He watched her leave and focused on her light footsteps until he couldn’t hear them anymore before he turned around to take out his cigarette before throwing up some blood again. “Fuck....”, taking a second to breathe when he wiped the blood from his lips before turning on the sink for the water to help clean the blood as it went down the drain.

Feeling his hands shake he gripped the the counter to stop himself as he watched the blood go down the drain except for near the rim where the water couldn’t touch when he started to feel a familiar chill down his spine.... “...Heh....he told me he couldn’t come back and I had to hold out on using my semblance....so does that make you the real thing?” Laughing rather weakly to himself when he looked up from the sink to see in the mirror that both of his eyes turned crimson red...the same color as the Grim Reaper who was standing on the opposite side of the room.

Staring down the skeleton through the mirror until he felt water at his feet to notice that the sink was overflowing because the hole suddenly plugged up. Turning the water off to turn and look down to see the water mixing with his bloody trail, “Sigh....mind handing me those?”

Holding his side that was still hurting as he pointed past the Grim Reaper for them to turn and notice the mop and bucket inside a locker. The towering shadow figure simply stared at the tools for a few seconds before actually turning to pull the two things out before he moved closer to Roman who was still tense around it, but he wasn’t all together enough to show it.

Picking up his cigarette to smoke before carefully taking the mop and bucket from the Reaper when he glanced at the skull to obviously see no expression for him to read. Though it was a bit difficult he cleaned up his blood while holding to his side as the aching pain was holding him back

All the while the Reaper was silently watching over him and Roman would have forgotten about him if it wasn’t for the chilling atmosphere that he created whenever he was around. The bucket was mostly filled with his blood and water mixed in along with his spent cigarette because he was still spitting out ounces of blood. He got to his door and cleaned the bit there but didn’t want to wake Neo inside so he dropped the mop into the bucket before slumping down to have his back against the wall of the corridor. “......Are you gonna give me an answer?”

Turning his eyes to his right to see only the Reaper as his entire figure blocked the corridor to the point that he couldn’t see past the towering shadow. “Guess you did only talk to me when I was dreaming.....If you won’t talk, then can you answer yes or no questions with a nod or shake?”

Surprised that the Reaper actually nodded to which he pushed himself up and headed towards the back of the ship until he made it to the kitchen to where he grabbed a bottle of wine and bottle of painkillers from a high cabinet. He poured himself a drink when he looked to the Reaper before he pushed the drink to the shadow, “Drink this.”

It was oddly creepy for him to see the thing tilt its skull as it looked at the drink before it outstretched its right hand to reveal its clear white bone hand. _Despair was always only pitch black except for his red eyes....yet this one has the face and arms of a skeleton, even his footsteps sounds like bones clacking instead of Des’ silence._

Grabbing the cup to hear the sounds of boney fingers clack against the glass before they lifted it up to their mouth and poured. Focusing his hearing but he didn’t hear what he expected, which was the sound of spilling water onto the ground.....The Reaper finished the drink and placed it on the table before imitating what Roman did by pushing the cup back to him.

Pouring himself a drink before opening the bottle to reveal the pills, “Is this a dream?”

**Shake.**

Popping a few in his mouth then downing the drink in one go, “Hah....is there a reason I should believe you?”

**Shake.**

“Are you Death?”, after a few minutes of zero response Roman thought back to his meetings with Logic and Morals. They took forms of his past self to represent them, and while only a black silhouette Despair still represented the current him so....“How about this, are you the visual representation of what I perceive is Death?”

**Nod.**

“Are you similar to Despair then?”

**........Nod...**

“Then change your look....just looking at you gives me chills.”, after a few seconds Roman stook a step back from being startled as the Reaper was enveloped in a giant ball of darkness before it shattered. Revealing the Reaper losing it’s cloak and adopting a sleek black suit with a red tie even though it’s white skull and bone hands showed it wasn’t human. Fixing their tie before opening up their arms with a _How’s this?_ vibe.

“....Better.”, pouring himself another drink for him to quickly down before he rummaged through the freezer to take out a frozen dinner meal. “Now....I haven’t seen you since the invasion, not even in my dreams or nightmares.....So can you tell me why you show up now?”

Putting the meal in the microwave while the Reaper gave no response to which meant he had to think of a different question to ask, “Is you being here have to do with Despair sleeping for a few days?”

**Nod.**

_Hmmm...it’s not like I can check my aura to see if I’m being drained of it while he’s here. Not to mention Des said that I get more back if I’m not fighting so i probably couldn’t see it now even if I did check._.....“I know Des can talk to me, so why aren’t you speaking? Is that related to Des as well?”

Reaper held out it’s hand to get Roman’s attention as it started swiping it’s thumb down on its index finger to make a clicking sound until it clicked for him. Taking out his lighter and using it to ignite a flame before it reached out to set its hand over the flame.

Suddenly igniting a larger flame that consumed its skeleton hand but there was no reaction other than Roman pulling back to stare at the flaming skeleton hand. It began to write words in the air as the flames spelled it out, **There's no reason for me speak, for I only have one task.**

Taking a step back from the flaming words that seemingly disappeared without so much as smoke or ashes when he heard the microwave beep. “What is it?”

**Kill everything that is a threat to you without hesitation.**

“So you’re basically Despair.”

Shaking his head before beginning to write flaming words again, **I will not respond to your thoughts, I will not follow your commands, and even against your wishes I will kill anything that is a threat; Grimm, man, woman, or child.**

Tossing the meal onto the table after getting a fork and chair for him to sit on, “So...just a killing machine then, how fitting for you.” Beginning to eat as the Reaper clenched its fist for the flames to extinguish.

Tossing the finished meal away but still feeling empty inside he headed out the kitchen then towards the back of the ship while he couldn’t hear the clacking footsteps anymore. Leaving through the opened cargo bay to see most of the people had slept on the trucks while others were still loading up the supplies in the big rigs. Feeling the Reaper still behind him he continued to where there was large campfire of people eating and drinking the night away.

Carrying himself along with the men and women too busy to acknowledge but the ones that did simply nodded as they pulled the ignorant out of his way so he could make it to the large tent where the smell of food was emitting from, “Warden? You look like shit sir.”

Looking towards the owner of the voice to see the large man in an apron as he was busy cooking, “Feel like shit Ben, got something for it?”, hearing a hearty laugh from the cook while he sat at the only table in the tent.

“It’s been awhile since I had my Ma’s cooking so don’t know how if it’ll taste the same but here.”, leaving a bowl of soup filled with rice, meat and numerous vegetables. “Something she made when I was sick back when I was young.”, handing him a spoon before he went to go back to cooking.

He looked at the soup to move the ingredients around with the spoon when he glanced to his left to see the Reaper standing at attention next to him. But none noticed or even glanced at him unlike Despair who was always visible to others when he manifested. Though his emptiness pushed him to ignore thinking further about it and started to eat, “Thanks Ben.”

“Just doing my job. Ask if you need anything else Warden.”

Feeling warmer with the meal he joined along with the drunken ex convicts to help pass the time and get his mind off both Despair and the Reaper who was keeping a watchful eye next to him without ever passing along a thought or message in any form.

Thinking it was strange how he was somewhat bonding with others through past crimes and other misdeeds in their past life but it was oddly comforting to be around his own peers without a gun to his head for once, especially when he was vulnerable enough that others could pick up on it. “Hey Ward! Check this out!”

Roman along with the others saw a lanky man attempt to do a backflip only to land on top of a table that broke but his laugh after landing erupted laughter with the rest of the group. A few of the women started to dance but Roman stopped his laughing to just barely catch one that fell into his arms. “Haha looks like you had enough for tonight sweetheart.”

Pressing a slender finger to his cheek the blonde woman’s whose face was redder than the strange beer that was going around, “Yu dun tel me when I had nuf Mister!”

“Sure, sure. There a tent or truck for miss tipsy to crash?”

“Hey Warden, the girls still have a tent over there!”, barely hearing the voice before seeing the man who it belonged to and where he pointed. Lifting the girl up to her feet before having her arm over his shoulders and supporting her to walk along the way.

“Can’t handle your liquor huh? Better watch yourself next time sweetheart.”, patting the girl’s back to illicit cute laughter from her. When he felt cold metal touch his chest and the sound of a familiar click, “Wanna hold my hand next time then baby?”

Seeing the silver pistol pressed against him before seeing the woman who looked completely refreshed with a seductive smile on her face which only made him laugh, “Hahaha...have to admit, this isn’t the first time a pretty woman’s pulled a gun on me. Though sorry to say they were hotter than you are, but I’ll give you a seven for looks honey.”

Hearing grass fell and a tree branch snapped made him look forward to see a rugged man with blonde hair wielding some type of scimitar peeked out from the tree on the left and a blue haired woman wielding what looked a gaudy lever action rifle peeked out from the right, “You’ll come quietly won’t you babe?”

“Doesn’t seem like I got a choice.”, following along as the girl took back her arm but linked arms with him while keeping the gun closely pressed to his side as they continued walk further and further from the camp. The rugged man took the lead while the blue haired woman was behind them keeping watch. When he glanced behind the blue girl flashed a smile and a wink but he was more paying attention on noticing the lack of the Reaper’s presence.

They didn’t travel that far before they stopped at a black car with tinted windows, to which the man got in first to start the car and the blue girl came around to get in front of Roman while aiming her rifle. The blonde woman let go of him to step away while still keeping her aim on him as her expression looked devious when she pulled out and spun a pair of handcuffs. “Can we do without the toys? I’m not too into S&M play darling.”

Tossing the handcuffs for him to catch before he reluctantly put them on and moved his hands to show they he was indeed cuffed with the sound of the chain. Making him get in the backseat with the blonde woman and the blue girl took the passenger seat before they started to drive along with the light from the campfires dimming away to darkness.

Blonde- “Hey Ash, think he won’t mind if we give him late?”

The blue haired girl glanced over her shoulder as she was chewing some gum, “I know you had some drinks Missy but can you not spread your legs for every bounty we take?”

Missy- “I’m barely buzzed and I don’t do it for every bounty...”, peering over to Roman who could only respond with his poker smile. “...just the cute and hot ones.”

Passively holding off Missy’s advances, “So, you guys taking me to this November fellow?”

Rugged man- “Nothing personal, you know how it is. If the price is right, then anyone will take it. By the way, name’s Crank. Not like it’ll matter later.”

Roman- “I may as well give it a shot and throw this out there then. Turn us around and bring me back to my camp, then I’ll pay you five times the amount he’s offering. You should know I have the resources since you’ve been in my camp.”

Crank- “If we didn’t know more about you we would have taken that offer.”

Roman- “Oh? And what do you know about me?”

Startled for a second as he leaned back into the seat when the seat in front of him came down for him to match eyes with Ash while also she was blatantly showing off her cleavage. “That you’re a sadist who likes torturing men and women till they want to die. Mercy isn’t in your book and you’ve blazed a bloody trail since you’ve shown up in this kingdom. But, that’s pretty fitting for a man whose surname is Torchwick huh?”

“Looks like you’ve done your homework digging into my closet.”, leaning to look down into the girl’s eyes, “So what else has this November found out about me dollface?”

Ash- “That if you’re the real Torchwick then we should wear earplugs so you can’t sweet-talk us with your silver tongue.”

Missy- “I wouldn’t mind feeling that tongue in action though....”

Ash- “Missy can you just shut up and finger yourself quietly or something? This damn nympho.....now where was I?”

Roman- “I’ve talked my way out of dozens of bad situations, what makes you think I can’t with you three?”

Crank- “We’ve dealt with more than our share of smooth talkers like you, but just break a finger and you’ll cry like a baby like the rest of them.”

Roman- “Haha...Well at least you’re manhunters with confidence, but you should know talking isn’t the only way I get out of shit like this.”, hearing a click to turn to Ash who turned over on her chair when he felt the barrel of her rifle touch the center of his neck when he looked at her.

Ash- “The second you try something, you’ll have a hole through that neck of yours and we’ll watch you bleed out before we dump your body in the woods for the Grimm to clean up.”

Grabbing the barrel for the chains to make noise as they scrapped the rifle and his grin caught their attention, “Then go ahead and pull the trigger, cause if you do the only one who wins is me. Wanna know why? You’ll be shit outta luck with no pay while I’m flying Cloud 9 down in Hell.”

With tension running the only thing that was heard was the sound of the engine until he saw Ash pull her finger off the trigger before pulling her rifle back. “Guess that part of the info was right about you too, you’re completely fucked in the head.”

Pulling the handle of her seat for it to go back right up and finally return Roman’s personal space, “Sanity is a crutch, everyone in the business knows that.”

Crank- “Of course everyone's crazy, but people like you are bat-shit insane.”

Roman- “Well if we’re done insulting my mentality, mind taking these off? I’ve been cooperating like a good boy haven’t I?”, bringing up his hands that shook the chain linking them together.

Ash- “Tch, as if we’d actually take them off when you're a psychopath. Just relax and don’t move around so much like a good boy and you’ll forget all about them.”

Roman- “Sigh....will this ride take long?”

Seeing the man’s eyes glaring at him through the rear view mirror, “It’s a straight shot so just sit tight for about an hour.”

“An hour huh?....guess November’s been sticking to my trail if he’s this close.”, his attention was taken when he looked ahead to see a pair of glowing red eyes in the distance but like his men back at the camp Crank who was driving didn’t look like he noticed it.

“Well I enjoyed your sweet hospitality but seeing as you were kind enough to point me in the right direction it’s time I go.”

Ash- “Wha?”

Crank- “Duck!”, seeing the rugged man reach his arm to push Ash’s head down while he ducked as well while Missy and Roman followed after as to them some unknown force cut through the windshield and tore off the top of their car. For Roman though he saw the blade of a large scythe cut through like butter before they crashed into a tree.

Seeing they were dazed from the sudden crash he pushed the car door opened to get out and was about to start running when the sound of a bullet rang with a small hole appearing in the ground next to him. “Take another step and I’ll blow your goddamn knee caps!”

Sighing as he turned to see Ash aiming her rifle at him while it looked like she received a cut from the crash when he noticed blood dripping down her cheek. “Crank, Missy! You guys good?!”

Missy- “Uh yeah!”

“Fuck!”, seeing the pair get out of the wrecked car when Crank’s eyes turned to the roof of their car that was meters away on the ground. “You got a look at it right? What the fuck was it Crank?”

Crank- “How the fuck should I know?! I didn’t see shit!”

Looking annoyed she gestured to Luna who nodded before aiming her pistol at Roman when she went over to her companion. “What the hell do you mean you didn’t see anything? You’re the one who told us to duck so you saw it coming.”

“I saw a sheen or something, but I didn’t see no person or anything. Just a white flash before I heard the windshield crack.”, startled when the the front of the car suddenly exploded with black smoke rising into the air.

Crank- “Well the car’s a no-go for sure.”, seeing Ash and Crank discussing while glancing to Missy who kept a steady aim on him but he peered to his side to see the red eyes of the Reaper before it disappeared like it was nothing.

Though his focus changed on to the pair that walked a bit further than before but he could hear exactly what they were saying. _He must be close to them,_ recognizing the same thing happened when Despair would be around others while he himself wasn’t directly present. “You think it could have been him?”

Crank- “The intel Nov gave us didn’t say he had a semblance and we would have noticed if he was channeling it or something. There's always a tell or trail that hunters’ leave behind when they use them.”

Ash- “What if this is a trap set by him? It was way too easy getting him alone when they're a bunch of his people around.”

Crank- “More than half of his people were drunk and the rest were tripping on acid but...it could have been another bounty hunter trying to hound in on our cargo.”

Ash- “Tell me what fucking bounty hunter can do that in one shot without being see by the damn driver himself!”, pointing to the decapitated car and it’s former roof meters away from it. As they continued to argue he put on his poker face.

“Seems your friends are arguing, shouldn’t you go make them stop sweetie?”

“Just so you can run away? Well it’s not like you’d get far at night with those cuffs anyway.”

“That’s right, so could you be a doll and uncuff me before something bad happens?”

Looking ever so smug but the girl returned his expression with a smirk as she pulled on her necklace to reveal the key, “Want the cuffs off? Gotta touch me to get it.”, hearing the hammer from the pistol click as she stuffed the key down her top between her breasts.

“You know that would be tempting if I was actually in the mood.....”, feeling a chill in the air made him look above Missy to see the pair of red eyes along with a shine from the edge of his massive scythe. “But think fate doesn’t want me too.”, holding out his cuffed hands.

“Missy move!”, hearing her companion she turned only for her vision to be met with darkness as she looked up to the towering shadow before she dodged just as the massive scythe came down to slice through Roman’s chains while exploding the ground. Using the dust cloud as cover he made a dash to get behind a large tree when he heard the sound of a bullet as it whizzed passed him. “Missy you okay? What the hell was that thing?”

Taking out his scroll to turn the camera on before peeking it from the side to see Crank helping up Missy while Ash was keeping her aim in his general direction. “Since you guys are bounty hunters I trust that you’re smart enough to know when the real fight starts. Disappear and you’ll see the rising sun again, don’t and you’ll see why they call me crazy.”

They were looking around trying to pinpoint his voice when he could see the Reaper’s red eyes appear above them, So _he’s invisible all the time except for when he interacts with the world or with people, the opposite of Despair whose form is always visible when he uses my shadow...._

Stepping out for Crank to point at him, “Over there!”, but before Ash could fire she was frozen as blood splurted onto her. Roman saw with his own eyes that the arm Crank pointed with was sliced off but he turned raising his scimitar in the attempt to block the Reaper’s second swing.

Seeing both girls turn their attention he charged at Missy while they watched Crank’s futile attempt to block and instead saw the Reaper’s scythe shatter his weapon on contact before the upper half of his body flew off while the lower half was a mini geyser of blood.

Tackling the blonde woman to struggle for the gun and when he heard Ash’s rifle he turned them over to use the girl’s body as a human shield for her to hesitate. Though Missy glanced behind her, “Ash behind you!”, to which Roman used that moment to throw a hard punch to her cheek as he grabbed the gun when Ash ducked a wide swing from the scythe.

Gripping the pistol he aimed to fire a bullet that pierced Ash’s gut while she was dodging the Reaper’s bloody scythe. Missy knocked the gun out of his hand before bringing out a knife to try and stab him.

Kicking the girl off before she could reach his face and scrambled for the gun, “He’s the handler Missy! Kill him!”

Grabbing the gun to turn when Missy’s cut the gun in half with her knife to make him drop the useless half. Stepping back to evade the second swing to pull on her arm to bring her to him as he elbowed her face for her to lose her grip so he take the falling knife and swing which cut through her top when she jumped away.

She regrouped with Ash who while out of breath was reloading her rifle when he felt something behind him, glancing behind to see the Reaper’s towering figure and his scythe still dripping the blood of it’s latest victim. “They didn’t say you had a semblance.”

“I’ve always got a trick up my sleeve ladies, didn’t you know that?”, tossing the knife for Ash to fire it away but the Reaper’s downward slash sent a red wave that she barely dodged as it cut her left shoulder.

Moving in an instant to close the distance before the Reaper swung for Ash to jump and fire at it’s skull while Missy ducked and rushed for Roman with two knives. With the advantage of his long legs he kicked up to hit Missy’s chin when she was close enough before throwing a right straight, but she recovered fast enough to meet his fist with a headbutt that made him recoil.

She swung for his face and he felt the blade brush against his right cheek when he heard the sound of a spark to assume he had enough aura to shield himself again. Before she could move he grabbed her right wrist and with an opened palm pushed her elbow inward with a cracking sound yet she didn’t scream as he grabbed the knife from her broken right arm to slash across her stomach and tore through her top to reveal it in pieces along with her black bra barely holding up.

Missy looked at her hanging right arm before putting the knife she was holding in her mouth and pulled out another. Roman glanced behind her to see the Reaper at this point was chopping down trees as Ash was nimble and her reactions were first class to dodge the deadly weapon while pelting bullet after bullet with no effect on the God of Death.

With his smirk he pinched the blade to swipe the bit of blood off the knife, “Since you’ve got guts, how do you want it Missy? Quick and clean, or rough and messy?”, staring at him with eyes that were completely different from the lustful woman during the car ride earlier.

Taking the charge first for her to deflect his strike then slipping in closer to turn her head while she swung to slash his face and his chest for only sparks to appear once she connected. Kicking her in the stomach to push her back but like a cat she pounced back for a flurry of attacks that continued to create sparks as her strikes connected, _Shit, I’m still not in a position to fight someone this fast and I don’t have Melodic either._

Feeling his body was still sluggish as he was able to deflect two strikes but she was able to get in four more every time. He could start to feel that his aura was cracking as he noticed from his arm that there was a pulsating red aura. Seeing him distracted made her pounce about to bring down her knife when Roman sidestepped to his left as the massive scythe came crashing down and slicing off her left arm.

“Missy!”, The Reaper pulled back its scythe and the second Missy landed it swiped to cut off both of her legs for her to fall in midair when it raised its scythe to swing down like hammer as it pierced her body into the ground.

But instead of screams Roman only heard bullets as he ducked when one bullet went through the Reaper’s body and flew just over him. They turned as they gripped their scythe for it to rip through the ground and flung Missy’s corpse at the shooter followed by another red wave.

She held her rifle in the same way the wave was coming at her when the corpse collided with her just before the red wave cut through the body and destroyed her rifle. As he walked over he saw her trying to crawl away while leaving a blood trail on the ground before he stepped to her side to kick her over.

With a gash going from her right shoulder to the bottom left of her waist was blood seeping out through her torn clothes. “I gave you a chance didn’t I? But it if you tell me more about how November found out who I am maybe'll let you liv-”, attempting his deal when the massive scythe came down like an axe to pierce her body and pulled to rip her apart from the chest down before she could even let out a last breath.

The Reaper pulled out its scythe to swipe its bony hand on the blade to wipe the blood off while Roman sighed before picking the girl’s pocket to find her scroll as she was slowly dying in front of him. Taking out his own he pulled a cord from his to connect with hers and began downloading everything he could from it. _I can't control him, I don't know what he'll do and I don't know who he'll kill....I'm gonna have to be more cautious in what I do now until Despair comes back....if he does that is._

Tossing her scroll away to then stomp on her skull for a loud crack to confirm his kill when he brought up the map to find where they were suppose to drop him off, “An hour north huh?”

Being tempted to call his soldiers but he thought they needed the energy for their plan the next morning and scanned through his contacts until he picked one, [What is it?]

[I need a favor.]

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

Walking into the kitchen to find Kali by the stove, “Is that you Blake?”, walking in to stand by her.

“Where’s Dad?”

“He went out after talking to Sevis but he should be back soon.”, she poured tea into a small cup on a plate, “Could you give this Sevis? I need to start making dinner.”

Taking the plate and looking at the cup of tea, “Mom.....you think theres others like him?”

“....As much as I’d like to believe there isn’t, the world is a frightening place Blake.”, was her response before she proceeded to cooking and escaping the topic.

Blake had to be satisfied with that answer before she left the kitchen and walked towards the back room of the home to knock on the door. There was no answer but she could hear noises inside before she opened the door to let herself in.

It was a small room similar to a one person dorm except the only thing in it per request was a wooden chair and table that was currently holding stacks of books. “Hey.”

She addressed the man sitting in the chair who appeared to be tinkering with something. With no response from him “Hey!” Finally turning off his torch to lean back into his chair, “Yes Ms. Belladonna?”

“My mom made tea for you.”, presenting the plate with the cup of tea and to her surprise did he take the cup to literally dump the contents in his mouth.

“There you can go back now. You can also take that back to your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?!”, with her cheeks flaring up did she look where he pointed to see Sun’s staff leaning against the wall. That's when she actually looked at what he was working on to see it was Gambol Shroud. “What do you think you’re doing?!”, grabbing it off the table to then aim it at him.

Putting his hands up with a composed look, “Weapon Maintenance, when's the last time you gave that thing a tune up?”

“Why would **you** give our weapons a tune up?”

Taking off his bracelet to set it on the table before firing up his mini-torch, “Cause I’ve read all the books in this house, even your baby stories so I’ve got nothing to do while I’m still here.”

“Which begs the question, why are you still here?!”

“Just because I’ve run out of things to do doesn’t mean I still don’t have my boss’ confidence to fulfill. The White Fang are here so there's still shit I need to collect, besides your dad believes the longer he keeps me here the longer I’m not out indiscriminately killing some White Fang bastards.”, finishing with his tinkering on his bracelet to put it back on for it to extend around his arm again except his fingers had become claws.

Slowly lowering her aim as he was busying himself, “...How can you think like that so easily?”

“Cause I was born a faunus and sold out to become a human. Not all of us are lucky enough to be born into royalty.”

“You think I’m lucky just because my father is the Chieftain?!”

“Yeah I do, and so would anyone who knows the truth about you. You’re just some lost kid going through a phase.”

“I’m not a kid and I’m not going through some phase!”

His arm turned back to normal as the bracelet collapsed to it’s original form, “Heard you left the White Fang because of some guy you knew started doing things you didn’t like. You ran away like a coward and instead of actually doing something about it you just enrolled into an academy. Sounds like some kid who lost her way because she couldn’t stand up for herself to me.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”, startled when he stood up and pushed the chair back to confront her.

“You’re right I don’t know anything about you. Except the fact that you’re Ghira Belladonna’s daughter gives me a thousand reasons to want to kill you because he was the former White Fang leader but I won’t because it won’t change anything and it’ll only hinder Boss if I did.”

Taking her weapon from before he returned to the table and began to inspect it, “..When you were taken we’re there others too?”

“A couple dozen, most of them died on the way there. The others besides me are probably drug addicts, prostitutes or they’re already dead.”

Taking in his response before she grabbed the plate and left the room to close the door behind her so she took take a deep breath, “That guy has a lot of hate huh?”

Speaking with a soft voice for her to meet eyes with Sun who had his arms crossed as he leaning against the wall, “How much did you hear?”

“I got here about the time you said you weren’t a kid going through a phase.”

Looking back at the door to only hear the sounds of tinkering before she headed for the living room with Sun behind her, “What do you think about him Sun?”

“He gets pretty pissed when it comes to the White Fang, though that’s normal for pretty much everyon-”, stopping in his tracks when he received a glare from Blake but she sighed and gestured him to resume. “A-anyway, he seems kinda chill but he’s still guarded and I doubt he’ll give anything up about Torchwick that’ll help us. I tried talking to him hoping to get something out of it but guess he figured me out and he started talking about all this complicated math and stuff to throw me off....”

“Well...if he really did read all those books then he’s probably smart enough not to let anything important slip out. But I still don’t get why Roman wants to find Adam and the White Fang....”

“Maybe he’s looking for that woman...Cinder? “

Thinking about that name that she heard mention only a few times but she still never saw the owner of the name in person herself, _If she’s what Roman is aiming for and she’s connected to the White Fang she must be important._

“Though I stumbled on one of his conversations with your Dad, even though he didn’t say it out loud it sounded like Torchwick is searching through all the kingdoms other than Vale for the White Fang.”

“So he’s already out of Vale and working in one of the other kingdoms....Anyway, where have you been?”

“Oh yeah, I saw something weird when I was out. Your mom told me that the masks we saw back in Vale aren’t the usual stuff for the White Fang bu-”, reaching in his pocket when they heard the front doors open.

Seeing her father looking surprisingly tired as she walked up to him, “You okay?”

“Sigh, it’s been a long day Blake.”

“...Is it because of the White Fang?”

Ghira looked at Blake before glancing over at Sun who got the message and walked away, “Follow me,” gesturing to follow before they went upstairs to his and Kali’s room. He went to the balcony to look up at the shining moon, “It’s a bit late to ask this, but how have you been Blake?”

“I’m doing okay, why do you ask?”

“I’m asking how you’ve been since you left home. It wasn’t exactly easy for us to have the last meeting with our daughter filled with anger.”, letting her remember and think back on what she had done before she left with Adam and the White Fang some time ago.

“Yeah....I’m....I’m sorry for what I said and for running away. I just didn’t understand back then why you and Mom left the White Fang when it’s fighting for something the faunus have been striving for years  and called you cowards for it.....But after what happened in Vale I get why.”, surprised when she left his arm around her shoulders.

“It’s okay Blake, we don’t hold any ill feelings towards you for what happened. We’re just relieved that you didn’t go down the wrong path when you were with them. Not to mention it looks like you’ve gotten much stronger haven’t you?”

Latching to the word strong made her think back to what’s done recently and about them...“Heh....I’m not as strong as you think I am.”

“Are you talking about your team?”

“How..?”

“Kali told me a bit after the stories that boy has been telling her. You’ve been in a poor mood for awhile, is it because you're thinking of them?”

“I...don’t know if I can even call them my team anymore considering I just ran away without telling them.”

“Heh, with how down you are thinking about them they must be important to you. Can you tell me about them?”

“They-”, stopping mid-sentence as the sound of a door along with a crush was heard as they turned their attention to see the door opened with Sun fallen on the ground. “H-hey...”

Blake stared at the blonde boy with feelings of confusion, embarrassment, and lastly anger as she stomped towards him. “What’s wrong with you?!”

Picking himself up as he took a step back with his hands raised, “W-wait Blake let me just e-explain.”

“You were eavesdropping on us!”

Reaching for his pocket, “I-i know but when your dad mentioned the White Fang I just thought of this. Look even the clothes are like the ones back in Val-”, attempting to show her the photo on his scroll. “I don’t care about that!”, knocking it out of his hands for it to fly out the window.

“OW!”, their attention taken by the sound of a feminine voice made them look out the window to catch the glimpse of a figure wearing the White Fang mask in the bush before they took off.

“After them!”, realizing who they were she threw out the emotions she was feeling earlier as she jumped out of the window with Sun following behind her. “I knew I saw something weird!”

“Save it for later, catch them first!”, shouting back at him as she gripped Gambol Shroud to toss it ahead at the spy when they brought out their weapon to knock back Shroud. Sun traversed the trees with ease and attempted to drop on them for them to jump out of the way in the last second. “Get back here!”

Following the spy as they reentered the town to jump along the rooftops for the spy to turn and fire at the pipe for smoke to pour out with a squeal. Keeping her weapon ready to went through the smoke cloud to come out to the other end with the barrel of a rapier like weapon aimed at her. “Who are you?”

Answered with silence as they took a step back, “Gotcha!”, unable to react when Sun tackled the spy down for the scroll to slide to the edge, “Get the scroll!”

But they knocked him back and ran for the scroll to which Sun used his semblance to initially send two golden clones to tackle the spy down again, “Blake, what are you waiting for?!”, yelling at her when he manifested more golden clones to pin down the spy.

Blake finally listening rush to grab the scroll just when Sun couldn’t hold his semblance any longer and collapsed as his clones faded away. “Blake, look out!”, barely getting up to his feet and about to move, “Shut up!”, when the spy turned to fire her weapon that took him down.

“Sun!”

Wanting to rush to him but stopped as she heard a click and what sounded like electricity when she turned her attention back to the spy as their mask cracked to recognize a face she couldn’t forget. “I...Ilia?”

“You shouldn’t have come back Blake.”, responding in a cold tone with a face devoid of any warmth.

“Why...why are you with them?!”

“Hmph...you wouldn’t understand, in fact you didn’t understand when you left. Now give me back that scroll.”, moving her aim at the injured Sun while keeping her eyes on Blake.

Unable to move as Sun was impaired because of his injury made Blake locked in her decisions until, “Drop it.”, hearing at first a disembodied voice until a red surge of lightning appeared next to Ilia as she first saw the heavy pistol before seeing it was Sevis that was previously invisible.

“Who the hell are you?”

“A bitch like you doesn’t need to know, you just gotta listen like the 2nd class shit you are.”

Even Blake was a bit angered at him for saying something like that but she assumed he was provoking her. “You’re a human....then you’re probably related to the ones hunting our allies in Mistral.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about some shit in Mistral. The only thing I care about is making you tell me where the rest of your people are so I can burn them with their worthless families like the trash they are.”

Eying her down until she made a slight movement for Sevis to pull the trigger as she dodged and swung her weapon for him to block with the pistol. Pushing him back for her to jump to another roof when he took aim and fired before she jumped out of sight. “Shit...I need to tell Boss now.”

Seeing they were out of danger Blake rush to Sun who was clutching his wound, “Sun! No no no not again please.”, pressing her hands against the wound when Sevis came crouching down to move her hand and looking at the wound. “Can you help him?”

“Be happy the Boss needs you.”, flat out telling her the reason for his assistance when he pulled out his scroll. “Jenny, I need first-aid now.”

And suddenly hearing the sound of thrusters she looked off in the distance to see an airship rising up coming towards them. Sevis was putting pressure on the wound when Sun opened his eyes for her to hold on to him, “It’ll be okay Sun...it’ll be okay...”


	39. Finishing Touch

“Surprised he called us for a favor, not surprised he called us out into the middle of buck fuck nowhere."

“If you were just gonna whine the whole damn ride then why didn’t you stay back?”

“And leave you alone with a womanizer off his meds? Wouldn’t be very partnery of me if I did huh?”

“Would you listen to yourself? You’re as big of an idiot as him when we were back in Vale.”

“Now that’s just harsh, at least I’m not suicidal like him.”

“Doesn’t make you less of a prick just like him.”

“If you were stuck on an island who’d you rather be stuck with, Torchy or me?”

“I’d rather drown myself than be stuck listening to your voice or be Roman’s sexal outlet.”

“Wow, you think of hating my voice but when it came to him it went straight to sex huh? Thanks for letting me know what you see of our psychotic fallback; maybe I should’ve hanged back so you could have some alone time. I mean its been awhile since Cinder payed attention to you, you feeling lonely?”

“God, just shut up so I can drive.”, silencing Mercury when she expanded the map on her scroll to look at the direction before she made a turn into the forest as her jeep’s headlights illuminated the way.

“So what do think he’s calling us for? Can’t imagine it’s good if he wants spare clothes.”, looking over his shoulder to point out the street clothes in the back that they picked off from a shop in a village they passed by

“Who knows? It’s him were talking about.”

“You know the talk about him and his crew is getting worse and worse by the days.”

“Worse? Thought you already saw him at the bottom.”

“Eh, personally I just saw him as an addict that wouldn’t drop his lighter even if you strangled him. Even the shit he did in Vale was pretty tame compared to what’s floating around now.”

“Please don’t enlighten me.”

“Well it's gotten a lot more torture-esque. Not downplaying the bodies of the WF he’s been leaving in his tracks but sounds like he’s been taking more execution requests and they keep getting weirder. I stumbled on one his crew’s groups as they were stringing up some naked chick by her leg after slitting her wrists, though because of that encounter I found out he’s mentioned us to his gang at least.”

“How so?”

“Guy was probably the leading figure but he somehow saw me through a dense bush and called me out. I expected a fight but they asked if I wanted to chuck rocks at her or make her perform as an **opportunity** to live. She had a pretty nice body but her crying and bleeding made her begging to do it kinda gross so I refused, and guess what?”

“They kill her?”

“They offered me to go drinking after cutting her down by her ankle and her leaving a blood trail as she crawled away. But...they ran her over on the way to a town, I’ve seen a lot of roadkill and she was not pretty.”

Seeing the red dot as the number was decreasing as they were getting closer, “Heh....sounds more like he’s just letting them go wild in their shit. Everyone in his crew is an ex-convict anyway, makes sense that he got together a bunch of bloodthirsty killers with no regard for life.”

“All I’m wondering is what the hell he’s offering to keep them in line and listen to him, they even call him Warden as if they’re still in prison.”

“Probably just lets them kill people and writes it off as a job or request. Says we’re close to it, you see anything?”, gesturing to Mercury who rolled down his window and popped his arm out to reach above to turn on the switch for the headlights on top to illuminate the road better. “Hey, slow down.”

“What is it?”, asking as she put her foot on the break for her jeep to come to a slow stop before she got out of the car with Mercury. Turning the leftmost headlight downwards ahead to see tire tracks, she took out her scroll from the console and looked at the map to see the tracks were in the direction they were heading too.

“Think they’re his?”

“Probably....let's leave the car here incase it’s not.”

“After you partner.”, gesturing to her as he stepped out of her way for her roll her eyes before following the tire tracks with Mercury following behind. “What time is it?”

Checking her scroll, “One-thirty in the morning, why?”

“Does this guy even sleep? Why can’t it ever be during lunch or something.”

“Do you see someone getting killed or drug dealing when you’re eating? Thats his business nowadays so I doubt we’ll ever see him when the sun is up.”

“Still. If it’s during the day then we can at least expect him to trea-....You smell that?”, stopping in their tracks as Emerald sniffed and noticed the smell as well.

“Yeah....its faint but it smells like blood.”, taking more carefully light steps as they moved forward to see what looked like the roof of car next to a tree. Mercury knelt down as Emerald turned on the flashlight of her scroll to shine over it. “Looks like a blade did this one in,”  tracing his finger on the edge where it was cut to see that it wasn’t jagged but a smooth edge. “Wonder who it belongs to.”

“Think it belongs to that over that.”, hearing her words for him to turn as Emerald moved her scroll to point ahead to see a car crashed into a tree along with oddly shaped things on the ground.

Walking over first as she pinched her nose, “Ugh....guess we know what the smells coming from.”, speaking to Mercury as she shined the light over a corpse that appeared to be the upper half of a man with his lower half a few feet apart. Refocusing on the car to head over while Mercury glanced at the corpse then looked around.

Taking out his own scroll to turn on the flashlight and shine around their surroundings before stopping to a strange scene, “Got two more over here Emerald. Looks like two chicks.”, kneeling down to move the hair up to see the profile of a young girl while he glanced over at the female corpse meters away.

“Think they’re part of Roman’s mercenaries?”

“Doubt it, most of them got tattoos and from the short time I spent with that group I met I learned they all have SOLDIER branded on them to pose as a tattoo. It’s usually on their arms or their chest, but no point in checking these ones. They don’t look like ex-cons.”

“Then they’re probably people trying to capture or kill him, which begs the question where the hell is he....”

“I’m more interested in what done in these chicks. Don’t you notice something weird about them?”, shining his scroll over the one female corpse whose legs were missing to which Emerald eyed before shining her light over to the girl who was sprawled on the ground. “.....The giant slit hole through their chest is weird, the size from the hole doesn’t look like any sword did it.”

“Not to mention the end is curved, “ confused by his statement before Mercury kicked the corpse to move it so they could see through the dried blood ground that whatever pierced their body curved inwards into the ground. “The only thing that could do that is...”

“A scythe and the only ones we know who use one is Ruby and Qrow but it couldn’t have been them since that creepy scorpion dude’s been on their tail since the beginning.”

Crossing her arms as she thought about the possible culprits when the word scythe rang through her mind and she tried to think things that associated with it. Which brought up the memory of when she met Roman at the cemetery when the shadow he said that haunted him looked like the Grim Reaper but... _Was it more than just a shadow?_ “What about a Beowolf? They’re claws are curved like that.”

Mercury kicked the body again for it to flip over so they could see the front of the corpse which her clothes were torn to reveal her chest, “A beowolf might’ve done the clothes in, but never seen one of it’s claws cut that clean right there.”, pointing for her to look at the girl was missing her left arm and he was right, the cut was too clean for a beast to make.

“Well lets forgets the three dead bodies and the car crash, we’re not here for them we’re here for Roman.”

“Well there's only one set of footprints leading away from here.”, standing up straight as he shined his light in a direction for her eyes to follow and see the footsteps before seeing them lead towards where multiple trees appeared to be cut down. “Think ole Torchy became a lumberjack?”

“Just come on.”

Urging him as she started following the tracks for a few minutes when they begun to feel a breeze along with the faint smell of smoke, “Is that....”

“Where there's smoke there's fire.”

“And a smoker always has fire on'em.”, they began to follow the footsteps they lead deeper into the woods

“So you think Cinder will get use to it soon?”

“Talking about the powers she got from the maiden? Maybe, maybe not. Just know it never sounds good when I pass by the room.”

“Nothing ever sounds good with Salem around....though its not like she pays attention to us.”

“Yeah, but at least it's easier to move around since we’re invisible to her and everyone else because of it. Hate to be cramped in that space forever like boss lady.”, walking for about ten more minutes until they felt the breeze again with the smoke a little more clearer along with a voice.

“You hear that?”, Emerald waving Mercury to stop and focused on her hearing to hear the voice more clearly. They moved up using the trees as cover until they saw up ahead was a large lake, but they focused on the silhouette on top of a smooth rock that appeared to have a small light burning. “So, how come you showed up anyway? Why not Logic or Morals, wouldn’t they make more sense to show up after Des had to cover?”

“That Torchy?”

“Shh, listen.”, silencing her partner while waving him to keep his eyes and ears ahead as they waited while listening to the voice. “Come on, I’m waiting in the dead of night so at least answer me.”

Mercury- “I was always joking about Torchy being crazy but shit....think he’ll still hold our deal?”

Emerald- “Is it really the time for that? Besides...maybe he’s just talking to himself.”

Mercury- “Well it looks more like he’s talking to thin air Em.”

Roman- “What? You need the lighter again?”, focusing back on Roman after the question that drew their attention to see him sit up as the flicks of his lighter barely illuminated his body when he finally got the fire to suddenly be frozen.

Both Mercury and Emerald pulled back from peeking the second they saw the light of the fire disappear and replaced by a bright flash as they saw two flares whiz past their trees almost simultaneously before they heard the explosion behind them. “Go ahead and peek out. I’ll actually aim this time.”

Emerald- “It’s us you dumbass.”, turning on the flashlight of her scroll to illuminate her as she slowly walked out and Mercury proceeded to do the same.

Roman- “Oh, sorry bout that.”, seeing the black silhouette stand up as they heard the lighter click to only see his smiling face. “What brings you two here?”

Waving her scroll, “You called me, remember?”

Roman- “Ah...right I did. Didn’t expect you to actually come, thanks for coming sweetheart, and you two Merc.”

Mercury- “Merc?”, tilting his head over the name, “You been drinking Torchy?”

Stepping off off the rock for the moonlight to better hit his body to notice the spots of blood on his chest and his pants. “I’ve had a few, but trust me I’m perfectly fine.”

Emerald- “And I’m just gonna take a wild guess that the blood belongs to the dead back there?”

Roman- “You’d be correct, long story short. They were a couple of thugs hired to take me to a mob boss, that’s why I called you to help me out with taking care of them since they’re nearby. I’ll remember to pay anything you want afterwards.”

Mercury- “Before anything Torchy, mind telling us how those three died?”

Putting away his lighter as the moonlight moved to shine over them as they turned off their lights, “Would you believe me if a Grimm suddenly attacked and I hid while it ripped them apart?”

The pair stared at the blood covered man whose smiling face was all the more sinister under the moon before looking at each other. Emerald turned back to him and answer first, “See what kinda Grimm it was?”

Roman- “It moved faster than I could see so I couldn’t get a good look. Besides I was hiding for dear life you know?”

Mercury- “Cut the bullshit Roman, what the fuck aren’t you telling us?”, starting to confront him as he pressed a finger into his chest when Roman grabbed his wrist. “I’m telling the truth you little-”

Seeing his anger when Emerald notice he took one second to look past Mercury before he closed his own mouth and let go of Mercury’s arm. “Sigh, I’m telling the truth. I don’t know what it was and I really think we should get out of here before it comes back.”

Putting up a sincere front to which weirded the two out, “Well....I parked my jeep back there, come on.”

Mercury stepping away from Roman first and heading back while Emerald followed his lead as they both noticed he didn’t move for a minute till he began to follow. She eventually caught up to Mercury which made the difference in distance between them and the shaky criminal even more apparent. “He’s being really weird.”

He looked back before whispering back to his partner, “He’s always been weird but....I get what you mean.”

"The way he held back....looked like he was looking at something behind you”

“Yeah I know, then he got all nice and weak after pulling back. He pays more attention to you so I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s paying attention to anything right now....”, both taking a look back at Roman who was surprisingly quiet as he followed behind and played with his lighter while smoking his cigarette.

After brushing past the bodies and the car crash did they make they’re way back to Emerald’s jeep and she opened the back to reveal a set of clothes for him, “We just picked up what we could find.”

Roman- “Thanks, I’ll change behind your jeep.”, grabbing the clothes and heading to the back where she couldn’t see him but heard him unzipping before she went to the front where Mercury was waiting.

Mercury- “Alright this is creeping me out. He hasn’t said anything remotely Torchy-like the entire way back. What’s he hiding?”

Emerald- “You think he’ll tell us outright? Maybe we can talk around it to lead him to tell us what happened.”

Mercury- “This is him we’re talking about. You know he’s gonna dodge to keep his secrets.”

Emerald- “Look at him.”, glancing around the jeep to see Roman’s rather downcasted expression as he was putting on a black button up shirt before working on a green tie, “He’s totally out of it, if we’re gonna get anything out of him now would be the best time before he falls asleep or something.”

Mercury- “Well how do you suggest we start?”

“Start what?”, a bit startled when the two turned at the voice to see Roman finish dressing as he clicked the belt together to secure the blue jeans and rolled up the sleeves on the black shirt. For both of them to stare at the usual left arm. Mercury tapped his partner’s back to get her to talk, “Y-you called us for a favor right? What is it?”

Shuffling his pockets to eventually take out his scroll while gesturing them to take out theres. Holding theirs out before he held out his and a red light on the top of their scrolls shined for a few seconds before dimming away, “Want your help in dealing with this bug that’s been bothering me ever since I’ve expanded my reaches.”

Pulling back their scrolls to see on their screens was information of a man called Damian North and his nickname was November along with other private information. “And you couldn’t call your thugs to do this for you?”

Roman- “I have something big to do tomorrow before I move my entire operation into the city, so I need them in their best shape. Besides, I thought you’d want to make me owe you, wouldn’t that put you in the better position in this relationship?”

“Either way our time limit is dawn, and whether we do get him or not I’ll still pay you whatever you want for answering my request.”

Mercury- “You’re the type of guy who can and always does things himself. And if it's only one target couldn’t you handle it yourself Torchy?”

“I don’t know if you could tell but I’m not exactly in pristine condition buddy.”, which was made clear when he stumbled to hit his shoulder against the jeep. “Then mind telling us why you’re this way? You had blood on you, but you didn’t really have any scratches or cuts.”

Roman- “Let’s just say....my smoking is finally catching up to me.”, covering his mouth to cough and they saw drips of blood from his lips before glancing to his hand to see more of it, “Heh..got a water bottle?”

While they put up expressions that looked understanding Emerald thought otherwise as Mercury reached to grab the bottle in the front to toss it to Roman who was wiping the blood from his lips. “Well, before we go anywhere you gotta tell us what you saw happen. And don’t just say you were too scared to look, we all know you’d look even if the gun was in your mouth.”

Washing his hands with the water then chugging some in his mouth to spit it off to the side, “Whew....when they were driving it happened in a flash. Some kinda blade cut the roof of the car and dumbass crashed the car into a tree. It was quiet after we got away but....I thought heard the sounds of chains when the car suddenly exploded. That's when the fighting started.”

Mercury- “You mean the killing? Didn’t look like no fight, just a slaughter.”

Roman- “Probably right about that, the guy was next to me when he got his arm sliced off the same time as the car blew up. I saw it as an opening and ran when the blondie tackled me down to stop me from escaping, after that I was struggling for the gun on her and she knocked the side of my head when I pulled the trigger. But since I fired close to her head her ears were ringing and I kicked her off me to run behind a tree.”

Emerald- “And the blue haired woman?”

Roman- “I looked and when I fired the gun I accidently shot her as she was fighting the thing since her back was bleeding. It looked like a Grimm with its red eyes and shadowed body but unless you’ve seen one with some kind of metal scythe for an arm then it's either some new one native to this kingdom or isn’t one at all.”, still giving him an unconvinced look.

“What? I’d tell you more but my eyes aren’t that fast after drinking and this thing moved fast enough to almost be invisible so I doubt I’d have a better look sober. Other than that, it was strong and the blade was sharp enough to cut trees in one swing.”

Reminding them that all the cuts among the three deceased were clean as well as all the fallen trees that appeared to be taken down were done so with single powerful swings. “I’m actually being serious here and saying that's all I got from what happened.”

Emerald- “Fine....so what exactly are we gonna do?”

Pulling out his scroll to reveal a red dot on a map, “Dumb, Dumber and Dumbass back there were gonna drop me off at this location. If we’re lucky Damian is there himself, if not then there will be someone that knows where he is.”

Emerald- “And you really think you’re good to go manhunting?”

Straightening himself out and fixing the green tie before his voice sounded surprisingly better, “I’ve strangled people after being shot with a shotgun, I’m perfectly fine.”

She looked to her partner who shrugged while mouthing the words, _It’s him remember?_ , to which she just shook her head, “Are you ready then? Get in.”

Mercury gestured Roman to get in the passenger seat while he sat in the back behind Emerald who started the car. Hooking his scroll into an open slot on the side of the radio for it to display a bright light in front of him which turned out to be a holo map with the red dot pulsating, “Head north and turn when I tell you. We should be there in less than an hour even if you drive slowly.”

Changing the shift to turn the car around and began heading north as she glanced over to Roman who was looking completely focused on the map along with other pockets of data. _What are you hiding Roman?_ , thinking back to what he described was the killer when she looked at the rear view mirror to see Mercury looking bored before seeing the pair of red eyes on the other side of the back seat.

Slamming on the breaks to both of the men’s surprise, “Woah, what the hell you stop for?”, startling Mercury as she looked in the back to only see him alone in the back seat. “I...I thought I saw something.”

“Saw what?!”, clearly annoyed but as she turned to Roman who was looking back but looking from the right side so she could only see the profile of his face when he turned back. She saw his left eye shine crimson red before turning back to his normal eye color as he looked at her with a concerned expression, “What’d you see Em?”

“N...nevermind, must be seeing things.”, starting the car again to go in their original direction as she glanced to see he was busy as she kept one hand on the wheel while pulling out her scroll in her left hand out of Roman’s potential view.

Typing quickly as she looked in the rear view mirror to see Mercury notice his scroll vibrating before checking it, [Mercury, I saw something in the back just now.]

Mercury’s expression showed confusion as he looked up but answered anyway, [I thought you said it was nothing, which is it?]

[I saw red eyes, and for a second I thought I saw Roman’s eyes were flashing red too.]

[We already guessed he was lying back there, think whatever killed those suckers belongs to him then?]

[Just keep an eye on him, I can’t while driving without getting noticed and....try to stay behind my seat.], suddenly feeling a chilly feeling scrape his right shoulder as he peeked to only see the empty seat but felt there was something there. The cold feeling remained even after Roman who was the only who had his window down put it back up after tossing out his cigarette.

He gave directions along the way for Emerald to listen without question so Mercury stared at the criminal at times where he knew he wouldn’t be noticed. And even though he only half believed his partner he couldn’t deny that at times the cold feeling would be even colder, to which he saw only brief flashes of red shining from the corner of Roman’s left eye that he could see.

“Hey Torchy.”

“Yes Mercury?”

“There's some gum in the glove compartment, mind handing it over?”, not even looking away from the map as he opened the compartment to take the gum with his left hand and held it behind him to which Mercury reached and felt he passed through something briefly as he took the gum.

“Thanks,” taking a piece for him to chew as he went back to his scroll, [There’s definitely something in here. Felt like my hand went through ice.]

Roman- “Take a right from that big tree then count to ten before you park it.”

Making the turn as she could see up ahead, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.”, following the count to come to a slow stop where she was surprised to find both sides were covered by bushes large enough to block the jeep from view. “We’re here.”

Seeing him get out first when Mercury notice the cold air disappeared the second he did before they got out and followed Roman to stop behind trees as they looked ahead to see a a type of small compound with a few buildings while there was one large warehouse. “So how we gonna do this Torchy, just go bust it up?”

Emerald kept her eye on Roman as he was staring at the gate and focused on the two guards while there appeared to be something looming over him, “Damian ain’t just no small time like the rest, if he got spooked by noise he’ll have a getaway ready and that isn’t what we want. So lets sure we keep this quiet.”, pulling out a silver revolver as he turned the cylinder to load in six rounds one at a time.

Mercury- “Where’d you get that?”

Roman- “The blue haired girl, girl must have been a gun freak cause she was strapped with enough ammo to support a small army.”, pulling out a suppressor to attach to the revolver’s barrel before aiming at the guard.

Emerald- “Wait, there’s one more.”, pointing out to Roman as another guard stepped out from the gate and began talking to the first one. “Hold this.”, hearing him as she suddenly caught his cane as he held the revolver with both hands to steady his aim.

Roman- “Mercury, find a rock and throw it to the left. Hard.”, turning her attention to her partner as he scanned the ground to eventually find a rock and looked past Roman to throw and hit a tree for the sound to make loud enough thud that both guards looked.

Seeing the first guard turn enough for Roman to see the second guard’s head right behind him before pulling the trigger. The bullet went through the first one’s skull to end in the second as the blood splatter hit the gate. Once the bodies hit the ground did Roman go in first then Emerald followed by Mercury as they peeked inside from the gate, “Looks like a little more than a skeleton crew but their split between the two buildings and the warehouse.”

Pointing out at least twelve people in the compound with six of them in front of the warehouse, two in the left building and four in the right building.

Roman- “I trust you guys know how to kill someone quietly, so I’ll leave the two on the left to you and I’ll deal with the four.”

Emerald- “Shouldn’t we take out the four guys instead? Makes more sense if we go then you by yourself.”, trying to reason when she felt a tap on her shoulder to face Mercury. “Come on, Torchy can handle himself.”

He moved past her to quickly head over to the left building as she shook her head before handing over Roman’s cane and watching him head to the right building then following her partner’s steps.

Regrouping with Mercury on the building’s wall next to an open window, “What do we do now?”, letting her peek through the window to see the two men moved inside as it appeared to be some kind storage for food with the multiple refrigerators off to the side.

“Well we can’t blindly go in and even if I use my semblance if they make too much noise it’ll attract the others.”

“How about that?”, pointing past her for her to turn and see a breaker box attached to the end of the wall. Nodding to that she opened up the box to switch off the power for the inside of the building to go dark but they surprised the ones in the other building or the front of the warehouse paid it no mind.

“What the fuck? Who turned out the lights?!”

“It’s probably the breaker, damn thing is a piece of shit and the boss won’t fix it no matter how many times we ask. Just go restart it or something.”

“Why don’t you go do it?”

“Cause I’m busy so why don’t you go do it instead of standing around like a dumbass.”, hearing the conversation happen inside before hearing the footsteps so Emerald closed the box and followed Mercury who quietly entered the building through the open window.

Mercury gestured her for silence before pointing over the desk they were hiding behind at the guard who was reading a newspaper, “Take care of that guy and I’ll wait by the entrance to take care of the second guy.”

Seeing him sneak away avoiding the busied man until he found a spot near the entrance that concealed him in darkness when she slowly approached the man. Pulling out one of sickles for the blade to shine for a second as she swung when the man turned for her blade to split open their jugular for a dark spray to pour out as she felt something warm hit her cheek.

The lights suddenly came on as she saw the stunned face of the man as they fell back with their open neck leaking blood before falling in a red pool. “Oh shit.”, hearing the voice made her look up towards the front entrance where the young man was shocked but once he realised what happened he reached for his gun.

Mercury leapt from his hiding spot to kick the man’s wrist to hear a deafening crack as they dropped the gun. Landing on his feet he turned rapidly to kick the man’s left side for the second crack to be heard then following up by pulling back his kick to aim for an ankle kick that broke their leg and swept them off their legs. Stepping on their chest as they were falling to knock them to the ground with the air knocked out of them before the last thing they saw was Mercury’s smirking face when he stomped on their chest to hear a final crack.

Turning to look at his partner, “Hey, you got a little something,” pointing to his face for her to wipe the blood off her cheek. Walking around the pool to head to the window near the front entrance as Mercury followed when she peered through the blinds to see that the ones in front of the warehouse had gone back in just as the last one through their smoke away to enter back in. “Looks like those guys are going back to work, but....”

“How’s Torchy doing?”

Looking away from the warehouse to look ahead at the building on the opposite side to see it was completely dark, “Can’t tell, he cut the lights out or something like we did but they’re not coming back on.”

“Not hearing a peep from over there either, come on let’s go.”, exiting through the front for the pair to quickly make their way under the darkness to building where Roman was suppose to clear of the guards.

She put her ear to the door to hear only dead silence as Mercury tried to peer inside through the window but his sense of smell was overcome with the smell of blood as the window was cracked open, “I...think it’s good to go in.”

Listening to him she slowly opened the door for the stench filled air poured out for them both to pinch their nose. Seeing the silver revolver floating in the darkness before seeing the outline of the lone figure standing in the center of the room, “Roman?”

Roman- “You finished them back there?”

Mercury- “Yeah...you good here Torchy?”

Roman- “Yeah, the light switch is on your left Emmy.”

She reached for her hand to touch the wall and moved until she felt the light switch to flip it back up for the lights to come back on. “Fucking christ....no wonder the smell was so strong. The hell did you do Torchy?”

Asking the criminal as they walked to sit in an open chair as he pushed the decapitated head on the table off with the revolver so he could put his arm on it. He was working on lighting his smoke as Emerald looked around the mess.

The place was a mess as the bloody carnage was mostly centered in the middle of the room where there was broken desks, chairs and a few body parts lying in the pools of blood. She tried to count the heads but instead chose to count the torsos to make sure they were indeed four bodies. One man was in a chair with two bullet wounds to the chest as his head was hanging back with his open neck. The second one’s face couldn’t even be recognized as a human being as it looked like a wire tightened around their head while they were repeatedly stabbed in the back with the amount of holes made in their jacket along with the knife still piercing them.

The third body’s head was missing as it was a torso with only a left leg and right arm with similar markings of a wire around their chest. The last one was also missing it’s head but unlike the third one it looked like the wire split their body in open to reveal only a visceral scene that would only be seen in a grotesque horror movie. “You’d be amazed what you can do in the dark if you go just a bit more wild Mercury.”

Mercury- “I know how to get wild, this? If we didn’t already know there was only four people here then we’d think at least a dozen people just got butchered with the amount of blood splattered here.”

Roman- “What do you want me to say? I’ll admit it’s not my best but it’s not like you weren’t already expecting me to be sloppy since I’m still not all together.”

Emerald- “And this all went down without a single peep?

Roman- “Maybe the building is soundproof? Even I was surprised no one came when stuff started breaking. Though I did aim for the throats in the beginning just so they couldn’t scream or yell after the lights went out.”

Mercury tried to get more out of Roman while Emerald peeked through the blinds to see no one outside and the warehouse doors were still closed so they were still inside. Though glancing at the two she saw there wasn’t a hint of blood on him other than the bottom of his shoes, and she was skeptical that he got it out without a single scratch against four opponents even in darkness. But physically he was in pristine condition and she could at least see casings on the ground to tell he did use the revolver to kill one of them while the knife he could have ripped it off one of them to kill the other.

The only ones that were strange to her were the ones that the wounds didn’t seem possible with the weapons at Roman’s disposal except for...”Roman....is your cane....leaking?”, pointing for Mercury to look as well to see the faithful cane looked as if it was bleeding from just below the handle.

“Huh, looks like some got in.”, holding his cane to aim the handle in one direction before firing the handle away to see the thin wire dripping with blood. Emerald herself imagined the thin wire wrapping the bodies and was glad she didn’t have to see something like that happen but it at least explained all the causes of death which only left the lack of sound escaping the building as even the windows were just barely cracked open.

Roman- “Theres a few black and silver canisters in that backroom Mercury, mind bringing them out?”

Mercury- “What’s in them?”

Roman- “Fire dust, gonna use it to deal with the ones in the warehouse. Now mind getting them?”, he reached to grab from a tissue box as he started wiping the wire clean as Mercury quickly brought out three canisters.

Emerald- “So what are we doing with the dust?”

Finishing up cleaning the wire to lock his handle back in place before standing to exit the building, “Bring’em along.”

Exiting the building to which Emerald carried one while Mercury carried the last two before they followed Roman out who stood in front of the warehouse. “Get ready to throw it as far inside as you can.”

Emerald & Mercury- “What?”, was their response when he raised his cane to fire a black flare that broke apart the warehouse doors to show in the inside. Reacting fast enough Emerald tossed her canister in while Mercury kicked them for them to line up perfectly in the back when Roman fired off an explosive flare.

The explosion occurred at the back of the warehouse as flames burst inside and quickly lit up the compound as flames jumped out of the broken windows. Seeing the burning warehouse accompanied by the pained screams as they silently watched before one man stumbled out with his jacket on fire. Three others had followed the man but they were engulfed in flame as they ran in random directions until they just fell over to be a disgusting light source.

The man threw off his jacket as he collapsed on the ground to catch his breath, “Well well, guess you were closer to the front then the others. Aren’t you lucky?”, they looked up only to be smacked in the face with Melodic Cudgel.

“W-who the fuck are you?!”

“I’m the guy your Boss has been hunting down for the past few weeks. But now it’s just annoying so I decided it’s time to squash the fly on my wall.”

“Wo-woah wait, you talking about Damian? I don’t work for him, I wasn’t even suppose to be here but the fucker called saying he wanted information for a deal that went down yesterday.”

“So you’re a broker? How long have you been supplying him?”, the man pushing himself up while wiping the blood from his nose. “Just recently, said he needed to take care of competition before he moves back to the big city.”

“And since he’s not here, got an idea where he is?”

“Some sex club down south, he’s been seeing some trashy whore and her teenage niece.”

“Down south huh? Guess theres no point then, but thanks for being so cooperative.”, aiming his cane for the man to quickly raise his arms. “H-Hold up! You wanna make him pay right? I got something you can use.”

“And what do you have that could help me?”

“There's a big town not far from here, Damian’s got a small cottage near a lake west of it where his wife and his kid daughter lives. His old lady is a writer so that's why they moved to the woods for some inspiration or some stupid shit. He’s been pissing you off with some hunters right? Fuck with his wife and kid should put him in his place right?”

“Hahaha....quite knowledgeable for only knowing him for a week.”

“You always find everything about your partners and clients before you work with them, best way to keep the sheep in check.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it set as a broker, how do you feel about working for me?”

“Heard you take care of your people, but I also heard you deal with fuckers as brutally as possible on a whim. How do I know you ain’t gonna tune me up like the latter Torchwick?”

“Your own life hangs on you keeping yourself useful, do that and you won’t have to worry about little old me. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? What do you say?”

The man looked at the smiling criminal before looking at Mercury who played along with a confidant smirk as he cracked his knuckles and Emerald who flashed her sickle revolvers for the man to see. “Deal, what do you want?”

“How far has the information about me reached?”

“Only Damian’s group and a few small time gangs he uses know about you. He was gonna sell you out once he met some bigwig in the main city, but I should be able to break some arms and keep you off the grid.”

“Heh....don’t, instead I want you to make sure my return is known throughout the kingdom and if possible to the other kingdoms by evening of today.”

“That’s gonna be tough...but I can do it. I got connections with some news reporters and some journalists, though they’re gonna want something they can look up on. Got an idea for that?”

“Leak to a news crew that something is gonna happen to Mistral’s largest maximum security prison . That should peak their interest.”

“Holy shit...so it wasn’t a rumor that you were hitting that place. I’ll get to my contacts so they’ll be hounding for it by noon.”

Lowering his cane to watch the broker stand up to get out his scroll to call while he turned away to head for the front of the compound as Emerald and Mercury followed.

Emerald- “You’re just gonna walk away from that guy? What if he’s calling this Damian guy and tipping him off right now?”

Roman- “Any smart broker will sell out a client to save their own skin. Their clients are a dime a dozen, but them? They already have the information and the connections they got will always bring in more clients, what’s one dead loser of short-lived wealth to a thriving bank?”

Mercury- “Always know everything don’t you? So, we’re gonna go hit up this guy’s wife and kid?”

Emerald thought about it and while she didn’t really care about the woman she had thoughts when she thought of the daughter, killing people her age and older are no brainer since they were already against her back then but.... “Don’t worry, you won’t have to dirty your hands, only I do.”, hearing a surprisingly calm voice for her to notice Roman glancing over his shoulder at her.

\----------------

“Well...this is the place.”, stopping her jeep for them to look out towards a dimly lit cabin with a wooden fence surrounding it. “Feel free to leave, I can find my way back myself.”, Roman spoke as he exited the jeep and headed for the gate.

About to start up the car again when she heard another door crack open to see Mercury, “What are you doing?”

Mercury- “Gut feeling.”, and he left following after Roman while she cursed to herself before doing the same. Catching up to Roman who stopped at the gate as he peek behind him and they could see the edge of his smile before he turn his attention back forward to head for the front of the cabin with them behind.

Roman- “Just look casual and let me do my thing.”, fixing up his shirt before knocking on the door. After a few seconds they could hear light movement within the home before the door suddenly open but saw no one till they looked slightly done to see a young girl with brown hair rubbing her right eye.

Kneel down to be eye level while he put on his poker face, “Hey there, is your mommy home?”

She turned slightly around, “Mom!” calling out for them to hear the footsteps approach for a brown haired woman appearing to be in her mid twenties showed up. “Can...I help you?”

“This is Damian North’s home correct? So might I ask who you two are?”

“His wife and daughter, Judy and Anna North.”

“Well Mrs. North, do you know where your husband is?”

“He’s working late, why do you wanna know?”

“Is that what he told you?”

“What do you mean? And why are you looking for my Damian?”

“Your husband is in rather big trouble Mrs. North. And I’d be more than willing to tell you but it’s probably best we’d not talk about it in the open.”

“Why would I let you into my home? You just showed up at my doorstep all of a sudden asking about my husband.”

“Aren’t you interested in why your husband works so late? Or why he always comes home smelling rather strange?”, Emerald eyed the silver-tongued criminal as she figured he was making things up as he was going but there wasn’t a hint of cracking as if it was perfectly natural.

Roman looked at the mother who appeared to have taken the bait as she looked worried, “Don’t you wanna know, if your husband has truly been truthful to you?”, seeing her bite her lip before she turned to her daughter before stepping aside. “Come in.”

Keeping her daughter close as Roman entered and the duo followed behind as they tried not to make eye contact with the mother to not intimidate her. She closed the door and lead them to the living room before gesturing them to seat before Emerald and Mercury stood by the chair Roman sat in across from the couch Judy and Anna took. “I thank you for being so cooperative so far, so I’ll introduce myself. My name’s Gray, I’m a private investigator and these are my partners Jade and Spike.”

“Private Investigators?....Why are you looking for Damian?”

“We were hired by my client to find and track down the one responsible for their pre-teen daughter’s pregnancy. We’ve put a lot of work into this and pinned it down to your husband.”

Covering her daughter’s ears, “Are you crazy?! My husband is not pedofile! And he’d kill himself before he’d ever lands on another child.”

“Are you sure about that? I’ve dealt with men like your husband before Mrs. North, living double lives because they’re confident they can get away without any consequence. Like right now, you said you he’s working late correct? What if I told you that was a lie?”

“What proof do you have?”, and suddenly he felt his scroll vibrate to take it out and look to which Emerald could see he was holding back his sick smile. “It’s probably best if you closed your daughter’s eyes Miss.”

Seeing the expression on the woman’s face didn’t surprise the duo as they both glanced down at Roman’s scroll as Judy covered Anna’s eyes while she gestured the girl to cover her own ears. Roman turned his scroll to the woman, “Tell me Ma’am, is that not your dear husband engaging in intercourse with a woman and young girl?”

Emerald looked to Mercury who she was surprised and actually glad that his expression after the photo showed to be repulsed by it, just as her. “You’re wrong, you must have photoshopped that image.”

“What reason would I have to lie to you Ma’am? I’m after your husband, not you. Or do you have something to hide? Or....did you already know about your husband’s infidelity and perversions?”, seeing her seem to sweat only lead to Roman’s sudden laughter which terrified the mother and daughter while surprising the duo who took a cautionary step away from the criminal.

“Hahaha! Wow, a wife who already knows about her husband’s adultery but does nothing about it. Even when it might involves children, you are truly a catch aren’t you Judy North?”

“You’re wrong about me! And you’re wrong about my husband!”, Roman chuckled to himself as he stood up and slowly walked over to be behind the couch. “Am I wrong? Sometimes I wish I was, but I know I’m right.”, suddenly wrapping his arm around her neck as he lifted her up while the child cried for him to stop while clutching onto her mother. “You’re husband is a fucking sick pervert and an annoyance that’s been bugging me for a long time.

Emerald was about to reach to stop Roman but Mercury grabbed her hand to stop her before he motioned her to look at him again. Ignoring the sadistic smile as the duo focused on the fact that Roman’s eyes were shining crimson red like a Grimm.

Though they were the first to react when they heard the door open to see a man walk in who was only stupefied as what was going on before he looked eyes at Roman whose smile grew only wilder as he dragged Judy off the couch and turned towards him. “What the hell's going on here?!”

“Welcome home Damian, or should I call you November? I’m sure I don’t need to introduce myself.”

“Torchwick! Let go of my wife!”, suddenly pulling a gun as Roman pulled out the revolver to press the end of the barrel against Judy’s cheek. “Now, now, we wouldn’t want to see this pretty face get bloody don’t you think so?”

“Fuck you, you damn bastard! Let her go!”

“Hahaha! I’m a bastard? At least I’m not a man who gets off on fucking cheap whores and little girls. I just kill for an honest living...but you, you just had to keep getting in my way didn’t you Dammy?”

“What? Didn’t think I’d ever push back? That I wouldn’t find your family and make you pay for being a fucking piss ant on my wall?”, aiming the revolver away from her face but downwards to pull the trigger to put a bullet through Judy’s left leg as she screamed in pain and Anna screamed.

“You fucker!”

“Drop the gun Damian, or else poor poor Judy is gonna have another hole in her.”, seeing him not budge made Roman tighten his hold around her neck as he moved before pressing the gun against her back to fire. The bullet went through her body to hit Damian in the gut as he dropped to a knee holding his wound.

Roman took that second he dropped to toss Judy forward then aim at Damian’s hand to fire for the gun to explode in his hand. Hearing the girl crying as she was clutching to her mother who was holding onto her wounds in pain while he stepped over to Damian who was gripping his bloody hand as he was unloading the spent bullets in the revolver. “You know you could have avoided this whole thing if you had just gave up after sending the first loser after me. But no you just had to keep sending it over.”

“Screw you, you psycho! You raided my biggest warehouse and executed everyone working for me!”

“None of them had to die if they just gave up everything for me.”

“But they did you asshole! You purposely left the cameras alone just to let me see. You took the youngest one there and asked him the same question over and over then killed a worker every question!”

“Then he should of had said yes didn’t he?”

“He said yes every time but you stilled killed one after the other and laughed!”

“Hahaha! You’re right, and what a surprise the last one was a girl he was in love with. He was on his knees begging me that I could take whatever I wanted so I was kind enough to send them off together....strapped to a conveyor belt for a crusher to smash them like a pancake until they were mush. Should have been there yourself, it was hilarious hearing the screams.”, kicking Damian’s face for him to fall over spitting blood from his mouth as Roman focused on the crying when he was reloading.

Walking back over to kneel down next to the child as she was trying to get her mother to get up, “D-don’t touch my daughter....you monster.”

“Heh..”, he glanced at Anna to notice a glimpse of a scar on her back that was almost completely covered by her shirt. “You’re a good girl aren’t you Anna?”

“Roma-”, attempting to intervene but Mercury grabbed her arm for her to look and see him shake his head as he stepped back to express that he didn’t want to be apart of it either. “You heard him, only his hands get dirty.”

Roman peaked up at the duo to see them and he was somehow relieved they wouldn’t get involved before turning his attention back to the young girl, “Do you love your mommy Anna?”

The girl was nervous and appeared to be shaking as she nodded, “She’s losing quite a bit of blood you know? But if we call for help now they can save her, you want that don’t you?”

“P-please save my mommy!”, the girl whose clothes was bloody and eyes filled with tears turned to Roman and grabbed onto him while begging. Not noticing that his eyes had changed as they seemed to shine brightly as he grabbed the girl’s hand to make her let go to place the revolver in her hand. “Shoot your daddy, and I’ll save your mommy.”

“A-anna...d-don’t listen to h-him...”, Roman covered the woman’s mouth with his hand as he tried to put on the best face he could, “She doesn’t have a lot of time left Anna, don’t you wanna help the woman who gave birth to you, takes care of you, and loves you so much? All you have to do is shoot your daddy over there.”, using his eyes to make her look at the bleeding Damian who was speechless at the scene.

“He deserves it don’t you think? I mean, isn’t he the one who hurts you the most Anna?”, Emerald’s eyes widen while Mercury’s harden as he focused on the young girl to find truth in Roman’s words as he saw the scar on the girl’s back. “W-wha..”, Roman had let go of mother’s mouth as he chuckled.

“Did you think perverts ignored their own Judy?”, lifting the back of Anna’s shift to stun the mother as they saw together the amount of scars range from the top of her small back down to her bottom to which they didn’t need to see to know they were there. “Your daddy been hurting you for a long time hasn’t he Anna?”

Helping the girl by lifting up the gun and making her aim at Damian, “Just pull the trigger and all that pain goes away so you never have to worry about it again.”, her shakiness and teary eyed self as she stared at the man who was motionless with a dead stare.

But after a few seconds the revolver lowered as the crying girl turned to Roman, “I-i can’t do it....”

“.....What a shame...”

Emerald took a breath of relief as soon as the girl spoke, “Torchwick!”, hearing her partner scream his name for her to turn to Damian as he reached inside his jacket to pull out a second gun. “Roman!”, reaching for her revolver when both stopped as Roman’s crimson eye flickered for them to hear the sounds of chains as they saw a towering shadow dash from behind him towards Damian in an instant.

The shadow disappeared as quickly as it showed up, except now the man known as Damian was split up the middle as blood leaked from his insides to spill on the wooden floor. The little girl screamed as she covered her eyes and her mother looked only in horror.

Emerald and Mercury were confused and weary as they looked at the bloody mess before seeing Roman who appeared completely unfazed as he reached inside Judy’s pocket to take out her scroll and dial a number, “Police? I just killed a man and I’m gonna fuck his wife in front of his kid before I blow her brains out, come stop me if you can.”, firing off the revolver for the officer on the line to start yelling as he dropped the scroll.

“We’re done here, let’s go.” baffled by how quickly and easily he brushed his actions off like they were nothing when Mercury tapped her shoulder. “Come on.”

They proceeded to leave the home that was only filled with a child’s cry until they passed the gate, “Did...you really have to do all that?”

Mercury- “That was pretty ugly even for you Torchwick, you could have just killed him and got it over with.”

Roman- “I know, but where's the fun in that?”

Emerald- “Fun? You think what was going with the kid was fun?”

Roman- “Reminded me of my own father and his last moments, when I left him to burn was probably the one moment I actually felt alive. And I naturally find fun in suffering and cruelty, just my guilty pleasure.”, making it to the jeep to open and take out his cane as they noticed the sun was coming up.

“I’ll find my way back to my group and I’ll contact you guys again once I’m in the city. Text me what you want for payment for today too, doesn't matter what it is I’ll get it for you.”

Emerald- “Roman.”, stopping the orange haired man in his tracks as he turned for his eyes to almost be normal except for a small shade of red, “Yes sweetheart?”

“What killed him?”

“Who knows? I blinked when it happened and he was split open like a banana. Maybe that thing back in the forest followed us and killed him.”

“Don’t lie to me, you were looking the entire time and I saw it come out of you. So what the hell is it?!”, raising her revolver to aim at Roman as she began to hear the chains again while Mercury felt the air suddenly chill.

“.....Even I don’t fully know what it is, but there’s one thing I do know. I don’t want to accidently kill you or Mercury, so do me a favor and put it down.”, turning for his right eye to be completely red while they saw a shadow manifest behind him with a shining red left eye. Mercury saw the edge of a scythe’s blade as Emerald could now clearly hear the chains as they seemed to rattle in the air with the shadow’s form becoming more clear.

Looking at Roman whose eyes were the only matching factor to the shadow forming behind him with the scythe fully manifested along with the white skull with it’s dark hood. Mercury saw that it was still forming when he gestured to Emerald to lower her weapon until she finally listened. “That....your semblance Torchy?”

Lowering her weapon she saw the scythe was disappearing first before the entire shadow was gradually dissipating while Roman’s eyes were dimming back to normal. “So you weren’t going crazy....”

“And to be honest I wish I was, but we never get what we want do we? I’ll see you guys again soon.”, turning back to beginning walking again before stopping, “Oh right, send me Cinder’s number Emerald. And make sure she and Adam if that red headed shit is still there to watch the afternoon news. I got a message for them to see.”


	40. Play of The Game

Blinking his eyes open to see the white ceiling before turning his eyes to his right to see out the window and look at the buildings of the city. Then turning a bit further as he followed the noise to look up in the corner of the ceiling was a television screen showing the weather forecast.

Attempting to get up but he felt a sharp pain that caused him to fall back onto the bed before he lifted the blanket to see his patched up chest, “So...we made it.” Taking a deep breath to listen to the news when he heard the door open.

Turning his attention to see it open to smile as he saw his red haired niece, “Hey kiddo.”

“You’re awake!”, seeing joy in her bright expression as she ran to hug him and while he strained from her rushing hug he kept it in and returned the hug. “Sorry for making you worry Rubes.”

“I’m just happy you’re okay, how are you feeling?”

Letting go of the hug so he could sit upright while gently stretching his limbs, “Could be better, but I’ll live kiddo. How’s the others?”

“Ren and Nora are resting while Jaune’s keeping an eye on them but knowing them they’ll be up for lunch.”

“Heh, you kids got too much energy for your own good. But it’s good you’re all okay.”

“Yeah....right.”, tilting his head due to Ruby’s sudden shift in mood, “Something on your mind?”

“Just....it’s my fault that...”

“That I got hurt trying to protect my precious niece? It’s not your fault Ruby, and I’d do the same thing again if you or Yang were ever in danger.”

“But I don’t want to ever see anyone I care about be hurt again.”

“I know kiddo, but we all get hurt sometimes. In this instance I got hurt protecting one of the few of my family that I have left, and even though I know it’ll make you or Yang sad or Tai mad at me....it’s better than never seeing you guys again.”

Hearing the tone in his voice change pulled her back to her seat, “H..have you thought about it before?”

Turning his legs as he removed the blanket so he could sit on the edge and face Ruby, “With my semblance.....I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’ve always had it run through my mind at least once whenever I’m with you or the others. You think I do solo missions that much just because I get to do whatever I want without someone there to tell me it’s a bad idea or something?”

“I-i...didn’t think of it that way.”

“I didn’t either when I started, thought it was real freedom to do things my way. But it just meant I had to make the hard decisions without help or any advice that could’ve made a better solution. Couldn’t tell you how many times I just thought how stupid or how wrong some of things I did. Which is why I was happy when you told me about your team and how excited you were to go on missions with them. It was kinda adorable hearing you like that.”

Blushing from his words as she twiddled her fingers, “I was just...really happy I got a good team.”

Reaching out his hand to pat his head, “I know you were kiddo, and wouldn’t you risk getting hurt to protect them?”

“...Yes...”

“Then you understand right? You’re important to me, the last thing I wanna see is you get hurt.”

“It’s not any better if you get hurt too.”

“Yeah I know, but I’m an adult so I can bear the the pain when I’m trying to keep a kid like you outta danger.”

“I’m not a kid anymore....so can you stop treating me like one?”, ruffling her hair before pulling back his hand as he smiled. “I will once you stop making it so easy.”

“Meanie...”

Laughing at the cute face she was making before he looked to the stand next to the bed to see his personal effects including his scroll and his flask. Reaching for the flask to shake it and happily heard the sound before opening it to which Ruby was about to speak except, “So, how’s Torchwick doing?”

Nearly jumping out of her seat as he drank from his flask, “W-why would you ask me? Besides....didn’t he die back in Vale in a Bullhead crash?”

Finishing with the flask to take a breath before putting it back on the stand, “I’d believe that if I didn’t share a drink with him awhile after that crash back in Vale, though my memory is a bit fuzzy so I guess he drugged me to try and forget it.”

“Wait so you-”

“Not to mention I saw my niece brave through a sleazy pub to follow after him and his pink-haired girlfriend to share a drink. Don’t worry I won’t tell Tai about the drink or that you’re interested in older guys.”, and he couldn’t withhold his laughter seeing his red niece light up like a tomato that had him back on his bed even though it did slightly hurt him to move because of his wounds.

“That’s not funny!”

Wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter subsided, “Haha....I know but it’s still funny and cute to tease you kiddo. Either way I only ask since you seem pretty friendly with his girlfriend...Neo I think? Least through your texts.”

Glaring at him as she touched her pocket where her scroll was, “Did you read my texts on my scroll?”

“You kinda got a habit of saying what you type, so I overheard you mumbling when we camped out in the woods. My advice hold your breath when you text Rubes. So?”

Holding out her scroll to search through her messages and checked to see the last message from Neo was from a few days ago and she hasn’t responded nor has Roman left a message for her. “He seemed okay when I met him at that place. I tried to talk him into working together, but he just said he couldn’t since he’s a criminal.”

“He’s not wrong kiddo, people will still see him and remember his crimes because people like to hold others responsible for their past choice.”

“But he’d be helping to stop the real bad guys. I’m sure he could have just stayed in Vale since no one knows hes alive but he didn’t, he came to try to fight with Cinder and the White Fang.”

“Then it sounds like he’s looking for revenge, that’s usually something you want to do on your own kiddo. He’s probably gonna do his own thing but it shouldn’t bother you from doing yours.”

“I...still think it would have been better f he joined us, I mean we have the same goals don’t we?”

“You’re right, but we’re trying to stop them from what they’re planning to do.....Roman is trying to find and kill them when he finds them which is probably a reason why he wouldn’t want to work with you kiddo.”

“Sigh...everyone just treats me like a kid....I’m a huntress too, I’m fighting to protect the people I care about.”

“We all have something or someone we want to protect, how far you’re willing to go to do that is what puts people on different sides Ruby. Do you think you could hurt others like he does to protect the ones you care about?”

Thinking back to the actions of the orange haired criminal while remembering Neo, the two female twins and that man Yang knew as Junior who was his friend. “....Probably not.”

Patting her shoulder, “Just gotta accept you can’t team up with just anybody Rubes. But you’ve already got a good team with Jaune and them so you can prove to people like Roman that you’re serious when you take down the bad guys.”

“Heh thanks for the pep talk Uncle Qrow.”

“Anytime.....now they got any food in this place?”

Smiling as she figured with that response he really was better than before, “I remember seeing a cafeter-”, startled as she turned when the door suddenly busted open for Jaune to appear while out of breath. “Jaune? What’s wrong?”

“C-change...the channel...to the....news...on 5.”, speaking in between breaths while pointing at the television before the pair to look confused. Yet Ruby listened and grabbed the remote on the stand next to Qrow’s bed to aim and change the channel on the television.

It took them a few seconds to process what they were seeing before shock overcame them as they understood Jaune’s reaction. “...Oh no...”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“Do you need anything while I’m out Blake?”

“No Mom, I’ll see you later okay?”

“I...know Sevis might be difficult but he’s tending to Sun so do try and help him if he needs it honey.” nodding to her mother before Kali turned and left to go into the town while she turned to head back inside the main home.

“Just rest for a couple more days and you should be fine again, but once you’re capable of moving you should check in a hospital at a human based city. In terms of medicine and other antibiotics for after effects this place will be limited in their supplies seeing how it’s faunus run city.”

“You say it like the people are restricting themselves here....”

“Even if this is the place they call a safe haven for faunus it doesn’t mean it can support every refugee that comes by, this place will die like other closed societies because their singular support will run out faster than an opened society.”

“Sounding pretty sure of yourself Trig.”

“Read some history books and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”, overhearing the conversation as she entered and they went silent as Trig closed up the medkit to set it aside before moving away from Sun who was resting on the couch.

Blake walked over to kneel down next to Sun, “How are you feeling?”

“Hurts, but I’m already feeling a bit better than before.”, gently touching his shoulder as she smiled to see him not in pain compared to when he first got the injure. Glancing over to Trig who had already pulled out his scroll and appeared to be looking through something, “...Thank you.....Sevis.”

“Don’t mention it.”, not bothering to look up as he was glued to his scroll. But with how long he’s been with them it wasn’t a surprise nor was she phased by his cold response. “What are you doing?”

“Checking for new orders, and looking up sales on some pieces I need.”

Blake- “Seem pretty comfortable telling us you’re waiting to hear from Roman now.”

Trig- “You already know I work for him so no point in trying to keep hiding it from you. Besides, I never liked the cloak and dagger bullshit. I prefer blunt and straightforward since it just makes things less complicated.”

Blake- “Then mind telling us why he’s after the White Fang?”

Trig- “Who isn’t looking for the White Fang?”

Blake- “Thought you were going to be straightforward.”

Trig- “Boss is looking for the Fang to choke a bitch, that straightforward enough for you?”

She heard Sun’s laugh for a second before a pained grunt as he winced from his bandaged wound and with his facial expression said he was sorry, “Sigh....well can you at least give us a hint to who’s he after? Are they actually part of the White Fang or is it someone the White Fang works with?”

Trig- “Wanna know? Track him down and ask him yourself.”

Blake- “Then give me an idea where he is and I will.”

Trig- “Give up every name associated with the White Fang that you remember and I’ll tell you the kingdom he’s in.”

Blake- “Doesn’t sound like a good trade, especially if I’m giving information to a killer.”

Trig- “You want to stop the White Fang don’t you? Isn’t the whole reason you ran because you couldn’t see eye-to-eye with them? Killing the damn terrorists will set them back in their place.”

Blake- “They aren’t all terrorists!....They use to fight for what was right for us, and whether you accept it or not you were born a faunus.”

Trig- “I was born a faunus, but a I grew up as a human slave. Now I’m just a human with a bloody rap sheet, give it a few years and you’ll understand that trying to topple the ones in power is useless unless you’re willing to make them disappear in cold blood.”

Sun- “Does everything really have to end in blood?”

Trig- “If you got a better idea that’ll end a war in one swipe other than a six inch blade and open throats, then I’m sure all the faunus on this island would be willing to listen. Look how far you’ve gotten on words alone, if you want something then you take it. There's no equals in this world, there's only the bottom and the top and right now you’re stuck at rock bottom.”

Blake- “Are you that close-minded? It’s thinking like that that never lets people move forward.”

Trig- “Save your spiel for someone who cares, I’ll stick to what the people who I sided with taught me. Live only for yourself cause you're the only one playing for your own int-”, stopping as he heard his ringtone to check his scroll to look at the collar ID.

Taking the call as the two remained silent and listened, “Mr. Xiong?....No I haven’t heard from the boss lately. I’m still in Menagerie getting information about the White Fang. There was a break in at the Belladonna estate and the one who broke in appeared to be another White Fang member, they may be attempting to cle-....Wait what?”, hearing the surprisingly distressed tone in his voice made them wonder when Trig looked around quickly to find the remote control.

Blake- “What are you doing?”

Trig- “Shut up!”, instantly silencing her as he found the remote control and stood up to turn on the television before flipping through the channels until he stopped on a news channel. “I’m heading there now Mr. Xiong!”

Hanging up on the call and they were focused on the man who was calm suddenly rushing as he opened the medkit to take out numerous pill bottles and bandages to leave it on the table, “See yah!”, telling them as he closed up his things and suddenly rushed out of the room. “Hey wait!”

Blake ran after him but they second she exited through the main doors she was hit by a rush of air. Once she moved her hands she saw above was Trig’s ship as it extended a wire downwards for him to grab before it pulled him up. “Get back here!”

Only hearing the engine when she saw the side door close as the ship turned as it ascended before blasting off in the distance just barely above the houses in the village. “What the hell...?”, unable to see the ship anymore while she took out her scroll and began to text her mother and father as she returned inside only bewildered by what just happened.

Though as she returned to the living room she saw Sun who earlier was resting now sat up and simply stared at the screen, “Sun? What’s wrong?”

“...Don’t think we need to look for him Blake....”, pointing for her to look at the screen to see the news channel Trig had changed it too to see a familiar figure, “Is that....Roman?”

⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫⧫

“Haa...haaa...haa...”, nearly dropping to her knees but holding herself together as all she could hear was her own haggard breathing. Taking a look up from the ground to see ahead on the other side of the room were mangled up forms of former Grimms that were the test subjects to help her grow.

“It looks like you’re progressing. But it appears you’re done for the day.”, hearing the chilling voice behind her as she glanced to see Salem looking at her. “I..I can continue.”

“No point in pushing yourself when you can barely stand straight. Go rest and be ready to continue tomorrow.”

“Understood....”, paying attention to the disappointed tone that she had gotten familiar with for the past time she’s been here. As she turned to see Salem disappear into the shadows before she headed for the exit to leave the room.

Walking down the corridor while holding herself together as she thought about the power...“Cinder?”, hearing the voice to make her look up to see Emerald despite not even hearing her footsteps. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine...just a little tired is all.”, keeping her composure even though she was using the wall mainly to keep her up, “How bout lunch then? After your training you’re probably hungry right?”

“I don’t need it....”

“Did you even have anything this morning?”

“So what if I didn’t?”

“Then you’ve been running on fumes even before you started. Come on, I know a place in the city that’s pretty quiet and it’s not bad. It’ll be a short trip.”

She contemplated Emerald’s sudden invitation as she thought about her and Mercury and how they’ve been for the past couple of days. Especially since she noticed it wasn’t just Mercury disappearing during the night but Emerald as well and she didn’t forget about the messages from the White Fang that detailed that Roman was still hunting their newer members down. _They’ve probably met with him....but they wouldn’t give up the White Fang, there’s no benefit for either of them even if they did..._ “Fine, let’s go.”

\-----

“Feel any better?”, she asked with a smile as Cinder finished the meal she ordered and wiped her mouth clean, “I don’t have a headache anymore, so I suppose so.”

“That’s good. I know you’re trying to develop it Cinder, but you should get out more....maybe you wouldn’t be in such a state if you did.”

“It’s not as if I can magically get better by taking time off.”

“And you won’t even notice you’ve gotten better if you’re too out of it during it.”

Shrugging her shoulders as she crossed her arms and looked out the window, “So....what did you talk to Roman about?”

“W-why are you bringing him up? Besides Mercury said he could handle him himself.”

“That sounds like him, but I know Mercury is not dumb enough to take weeks to kill one man. And despite them constantly taking stabs at each other I doubt they really bear ill feelings towards each other.”

“...Are you sure you’re alright Cinder? I mean Roman and Mercury not hating each other? Didn’t they always piss each other off back in Vale?”

“As entertaining as seeing their spats were they never moved on to fighting, despite their personalities they only ever barked and never bit. So let me ask again but differently Emerald, where did you and Mercury go last night?”

“He told me he needed help getting into this one clu-”, pausing the second Cinder’s ringtone went off. Cinder took out her scroll and looked at the unknown number as she tried to think of who could be calling her as she glanced at Emerald who she judged by her expression knew exactly who was calling. [.....Is this who I think it is?]

[It’s so wonderful to hear your sultry voice again love. It’s really been a long time hasn’t it?], both expected to hear Roman’s voice but was taken by surprise by how casual and loving his tone actually was.

[How did you get my number Roman?], she glared at Emerald who simply shrunk away as she listened, [Bullying poor Jade honey? Don’t worry, I only hacked into her phone and stole all her contacts after I drugged her and Mercury at a bar I was waiting for them. Rest assure both of them have their chastity intact, cause all I want is you sweetie.]

[You always have sweet words for me don’t you?]

[Of course, it’s only natural to be sweet on the woman I’ve been crazy for ever since we meet.], she chuckled as she leaned back into her chair as she noticed Emerald’s wondering look. [Well Roman, why did you decide to contact me all of the sudden?]

[I actually wanted to ask you something important.]

[....I’m all ears my dear.]

[Would you marry me?]

Taking a pause to repeat the words again in her head, [.....Never in my time of knowing you did I ever think you’d propose to me, especially over a call Roman.], keeping her eye on Emerald as she was gauging her involvement by her facial expressions but she was surprised as she was.

[I’m just full of surprises aren’t I? So what do you say?]

[Forgive me dear, it’s just all so sudden and I need a little more time to give you my answer.]

[I figured you’d say that so I thought you could tell me over dinner, how’s seven for you sweetheart? You can even bring jade and Spiky if you want, anything that makes you feel more comfortable.]

[And you really expect me to walk into your hand knowing full well what you’ve been doing these past few weeks?]

[Actually I do, because unlike before I’ll be completely honest with you and show you the cards in my hand.]

[My dear Roman not lying for once and speaking only the truth, I wonder if hell has finally frozen over.]

[Only one way to find out darling. I’ll message you the restaurant later, so enjoy your meal.], hearing the end of his sentence made her turn her head slightly to briefly look until she noticed the security camera in the corner staring directly at her, [By the way, enjoy the show Cinder.]

Being the first to hang up as she left her scroll on the table and kept her arms folded, “So...what did Roman wanted to say?”

“He wanted to see me for dinner, and he even said I could bring whoever I wanted.”

“We’re not really gonna go are we? I mean it’s him were talking about, he’s probably got a trap or something waiting for you.”

“I know, but it’s not as if there's a cage that he can make to hold me.”

Emerald sighed as she shook her head, “You two really are crazy for eachother....”

“Though...the last thing he said interest me.”

“What was it?”

“He said to enjoy the show.”

“What?!”, hearing a sudden booming voice along with the sound of a fist slamming on a table as they turned their eyes to see a middle aged man who’s expression was painted with anger as he was on the phone. “What do you mean you’ve lost contact with the warden?! Send reinforcements to take it back and send in a Bullhead to keep away any news copters, god knows those parasites will be there!”

As they tried to make sense of what the man was angrily yelling about they began to hear the sirens before they turned to see numerous police cars and vans drive past, “Think that’s the show Roman was talking about?”

Cinder thought of the things that Roman could have done to attract the police and they were too many to count but her attention was taken when she looked across the street, “Come on.”, quickly getting up from her seat to head for the exit.

Emerald took out her wallet to toss enough lein to pay for the meal on the table as she followed Cinder for them to exit the cafe and cross the street while a few cars honked at them. She wondered what caught her attention when she finally looked at what they were headed towards to see it was some electronic store as it displayed television screens. While they were others stopping by to watch as well the two women looked at the screen that showed a news woman inside a helicopter going through a quick introduction before they opened the side door.

Suddenly hearing the sound of gunfire as the camera’s aim moved from the news reporter downward as they could what looked like a massive prison with large amounts of smoke coming from it. But the attention was taken as the camera zoomed at the entrance of the prison where police cruisers and swat vans were under fire by gunmen using the destroyed steel gates as cover, “The maximum security prison is still under control by the unknown gunmen and while the police department is attempting to retake the prison they’re meeting heavy resistance.”

With the end of her sentence they heard a loud explosion for them to zoom back into the fire fight to see a cruiser explode before several rockets were fired from within the prison that exploded the other police vehicles. The smoke from the explosions cleared quickly asa group poured out of the gates to charge and execute the officers downed by the explosions, “Oh my god....”

A gust of wind blew the woman’s hair as it shook the camera when they turned to see a Bullhead before the doors opened to reveal an officer, “This is a restricted airspace! You need to leave right no-”, before they could finish Cinder saw in the corner of the screen a red and black flare fly before it hit the Bullhead for a loud explosion.

“Get us out of here!”, as the news reporter was screaming at the pilot the camera panned back to the prison to zoom down towards the center of the prison where the courtyard was. But it was currently where the fires were along with what looked prisoners and the unknown gunmen fighting and executing the prison guards. But Cinder focused on the single figure that stood staring upwards as if they could see the camera and recognized the cane, but they waved for two women who appeared to be identical as they held up rocket launchers.

“We’re locked on!”, the view shook as the pilot steered yet they weren’t fast enough as they heard felt the explosion when the rockets made impact. The crowd that grouped around the two grew larger as they could hear people talking to each other or on their phones about what was happening on the news.

They could only judge by what was on screen that they crash landed in the middle of the prison courtyard as they could also see the crash Bullhead across the way. The officers struggled to get out of their Bullhead only to be shot the second they did, leaving their blood on the dirt ground.

“Well, well, well...looks like the birdies came to say hello.”, hearing the male voice as they saw the news reporter who’s head was bleeding awaken and look only to be picked up by her neck. “Now, what would a pretty little thing like you be doing here?”

“Hey Warden, think this thing is still working.”

“A camera? Hah....brilliant idea to hover over a prison under siege sweetheart.”, the view moved as they assumed the female voice they heard picked up as they could see the news reporter who was limping as she was being dragged along by the name who sported orange hair, a white suit detailed with black petals, and their white fox mask. “P-please let me go...”

“Let you go? Sunshine, the only reason you’re still alive is because I got my hands on you.”, telling her as he pointed over to the crashed helicopter where the prisoners pulled the cameraman to maul him with blunt objects while the pilot who was female had her clothes ripped up by several men but the white suited man moved so the camera couldn’t see the horror happening behind but they could hear her screaming no in the background. “See? I’m actually protecting you aren’t I?”

He lifted her up off her feet single-handled as he cupped her face, “Or are you interested in becoming a sex toy for a couple hundred of horny sick perverts? I’ll be happy to oblige if that's your kink dear. What’s it gonna be?”

They couldn’t see as the news reporter turned her eyes to see something the camera couldn’t see, “Y-yes! You’re protecting me!”

“Good answer, don’t you think so too audience?”, putting her down before putting his arm around her shoulders as he clearly talking to the camera when he chuckled. “So tell me, how did you know to come here?”

“W-we got a tip at our agency saying t-that the maximum security prison would be attacked this afternoon. T-the chief said it was probably a lie but he told us to still check it out.”

“Unfortunate for you huh? Next question, do you know who I am?”

“N-no....”

“Then let me introduce myself, they call me Warden and I’m the owner of the mercenary organization known as SOLDIER. What’s your name?”

“V...Viola Renner...”

“Viola? What a pretty name. So tell me Viola, what do you think would happen if all these dangerous criminals got out of this forsaken prison?”

“They’d....bring havoc if they reach the city?”

“Doesn’t that just sound so exciting? All the fire and screaming is just refreshing to the good heart, wouldn’t you agree?”

She nodded vigorously when they heard the man laugh, “Haha...You just lied to me didn’t you?”, his shift to a serious tone made the woman lose color as his dead stare lasted until he laughed again. “Relax honey, it’s not like I’m just gonna kill you here right?”, still laughing and she tried to laugh along when they saw the man pull a pistol from behind his back to press it again her gut and pull the trigger to see a blood spurt from behind while also staining his suit.

Placing a hand on her wound to see her blood stained hand as she looked up to the masked man, “Y-you said....”

“That I wouldn’t kill you”, speaking as she touched the mask and pulled it off while falling revealing the man’s face as she left a bloody print on his cheek. “Didn’t say I wouldn’t let you bleed out darling.”

Revealing himself as the orange haired criminal as he simply smiled at the camera after the pistol to pat down his suit, “People, they just assume you’re not gonna do anything. Pretty dumb of her don’t you think?”, tossing the gun away for a man to catch it.

“You probably have a bunch of questions, but seeing how I got a couple of meetings after this I’ll sum them up to three simple questions I think you all have. One, why is Roman Torchwick still alive? Trust me people even I wish I would’ve died back in that hellhole, but I guess my luck still hasn’t run out.”

“Second question, what in Remnant’s name am I doing in Mistral? It’s a pretty idiotic reason if I’m being truthful to be honest. My so called “death” back in Vale was because I got played. But I tracked my former associates to find them here so now that I’m here I’m gonna settle the score. Stupid right? They almost got me killed and instead of wasting away at the end of a bottle like I originally wanted I’m instead here, looking to get even. Sounds like a bad movie I know.”

Hearing the sounds of sirens off to the distance before it followed by the sounds of explosions which put a smile on the criminal’s face, “Now the third and final question, What does this mean for you? To be clear, I’m only here to do one thing and anyone who gets in my way I’ll crush you beneath my heel. So all you gotta do is just stay outta my way, or if on the off chance you run into little old me and I ask you for information I’ll reward you for your service. See? I can be a nice guy if I try.”

“But that’s me being nice and now this is me doing business. What I plan to do is only gonna make a lot of trouble and make this kingdom unsafe for the mass public that aren’t scumbags, army, or hunters. Now I’m sure you all wanna protect your families and loves one from me and my enemies right? I’ll be selling weapons in mass or buying weapons you’re willing to sell in exchange for protection that I’ll disclose at a later date. Now if that’s all...Oh wait!”, turning as he remembered.

“Hey Bullboy hows your little group doing? Still missing a few cubs old friend? Well don’t worry I brought them to say goodbye.”, pointing to his right for the camera to pan over until it saw about a dozen people consisting of men and women who had their White Fang uniform and mask hanging off their shoulders as they were tied to wooden poles.

Taking out a smoke and matches for him to light it, “They wanted this goodbye to special, so they wanted to sing. Enjoy.”, before flicking it over at the captive members for it fall on fire dust for a fiery explosion to occur as they could hear the painful screams echoing. “Ah...doesn’t that sound beautiful?”

“Well it’s time I went but....looks like our dear reporter wants to goodbye.”, picking up Viola who was pale as her bottom half was stained with blood from her bleeding. “They’re waiting Viola.”, but she could barely make a sound even though her lips moved. “Come on, you’re a professional aren’t you? You just gotta do it like this!”, being showed a sudden close up of Viola’s bloody face as the camera view was cracked after he smashed her head in. He repeatedly smashed her face into the camera as more cracks showed as she got more bloody all the while they heard his laughter.

While cracked they saw Roman drop the woman as his sadistic smile was more terrifying after what he’d done. “See you soon folks, we’re gonna have a blast.. Haha...HAHAHA”, turning away to walk from the camera as it appeared the one holding it dropped before it cut out.

Rising a commotion in the crowd around them, “Come on”, gesturing to Emerald for her to follow as they slipped away from the crowd and walked along the streets.

“So....what are we gonna do?”

Stopping when she heard her scroll to check and see that she got a message from Roman before it started to buzz as she saw the name Adam Taurus appear on her screen, “Call Mercury and tell him to find this place. We’re seeing Roman.”

\-------------

Sitting in his car he checked his scroll to replay the video from that afternoon to see just rewind and see Roman Torchwick smash the poor woman’s face into the camera, “Haha...damn Torchy you really did go crazy.”

While he was busying himself he heard a knock on his window to turn his eyes to his right and see Emerald gesturing him to get out while wearing a green dress. Stepping out, “So you can actually clean up.”

“Shut up idiot, least I’m not the one wearing a suit.”, commenting on his own silver attire.

“Hey, it’s not like I chose it. I was getting some information about the place when I came back to find it in my seat.”

“They steal anything from your car?”

“No just left the clothes and this flask with gift written on a sticky note on it.”, taking out a silver skull flask from his suit to show her, “Anyway, where’s Boss lady?”

Emerald pointed over her shoulder for Mercury to look past down the alley to see Cinder wearing a black and red dress while she was talking with Adam Taurus along with the Lieutenant who was dressed but still wore his mask. “He pissed about what Torchy did?”

“What do you think? He’ll probably try to kill Roman the second he sees him.”

“Good luck to him then, probably won’t be easy with Torchy’s new friend.”

“Have...you ever seen a semblance like that before?”

“Well I mean theres that black cat who makes shadows of herself and the monkey who makes golden clones. But I’ve never seen one act on it’s own, like when it split that guy in half at that house. Didn’t look like Torchy wanted to kill him that way, but his friend killed him when he pulled out a gun. Maybe he doesn’t know how to control it yet?”

“Should we tell Cinder about it before they meet?”

“Pretty sure either Boss lady or Taurus are gonna make it appear anyway so no point in ruining the surprise.”

“You know you could be serious for once as my partner.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve always had your back haven’t I?”

“Mercury.”, hearing his name he turned his attention towards Cinder who was walking with Adam and the Lieutenant behind her. “Is that the place?”

They turned to look across the street at what looked like a high class restaurant, “Yep that’s the place, and we’re probably walking into a trap Cinder.”

“I figured as much, but what makes you say so?”

“I’ve been here for nearly an hour, I haven’t seen a single person walk by or heard nor seen a car drive by once. Which doesn’t make sense if all these buildings got light in them.”, pointing out that the stores and apartments they standing next to all had lights judging by the windows.

“Torchy mighta cleaned out this whole street to get this meeting ready.”

“Then no point in keeping him waiting any longer. Let’s go.”, gesturing them all to follow er as they crossed the street that was dead quiet even though it was only just the evening. Before she touched the door it opened by itself and they were hit with an all too familiar smell.

Mercury- “Hah, used to be follow the smoke. Now it’s follow the blood with Torchy.”

Adam- “The bastard is clearly out of his mind.”

Emerald- “You were the first one to call him a psychopath.”

Cinder ignored their chattered and entered to see the cause of the smell. Despite the inner decor she saw a few bodies on the ends of the wall as their blood was smeared on the floor from being dragged. But she looked ahead to see a woman black hair and red eyes dressed as a waiter patiently waiting with a smile for them.

“Good evening, my name is Erina Marks. I trust you are Ms. Fall? And these fellow men and woman are with you?”

“That’s right.”

“Very good, I’ll be your waiter today so if you would kindly follow me please.”, watching her turn before seeing the black wolf tail as she walked into the room for them to follow. Seeing the large room before noticing three pristine tables with figures already sat at them at the center while the rest of the room looked like there was a massive brawl as they could see both dead men and women pushed aside.

Several other figures there wore staff uniforms as they had brooms and mops cleaning the place but Mercury and Emerald recognized they were still Roman’s men due to the tattoo that has on their arms. “Miss Cinder Fall and Mr. Adam Taurus, would you kindly take the center table? Mr. Lieutenant, the table on the left is for you. And Mr. Mercury Black and Miss Emerald Sustrai, the right table please.”

Adam pointed to the Lieutenant to sit at the left table he did before staring at the twin women who wore red and white to differentiate themselves only smiled at him. Emerald and Mercury walked away to sit at the right table where Neo herself greeted them with a friendly wave to which Emerald returned the wave while Mercury gave a thumbs up.

Cinder and Adam were the last to sit at the center table that was currently empty, but they could hear the sounds of someone struggling when they looked ahead at the double doors that lead to the kitchen. “Where’s Roman?”

“The Warden is currently tying up a loose end and will be right with you, but let me get you some waters. Or would you prefer wine?”

Emerald- “I’ll take a water.”

Mercury- “You guys got coffee?”

Adam- “Tch, you two are certainly relaxed for where we are.”

Cinder- “No point in complaining now Adam, red wine please.”

Adam- “Sigh...water.”

Lieutenant- “Same, water.”

Erina- “Three waters, a cup of coffee and a bottle of red wine. I’ll be right back.”, watching her walk towards the double doors to open and only Adam and Cinder saw a brief second of Roman holding someone down as he held up a meat cleaver before the doors closed.

After a few seconds of silence did Erina come back out with a plate with their drinks before placing them down. As she poured Cinder’s red wine, “So, what is your relationship to Roman? I can’t imagine it’s good if you call him Warden.”

“We’re all indebted to the Warden since he’s given us a piece of freedom. Even though it means we work and do his bidding, so it’s as if we just had a change in who controls our lives.”, finishing pouring as Cinder glanced around the room to see more workers then there was before they came in. “Well you’ve spoken for the others, but what about you personally?”

“I guess you could call it a master / slave relationship? He does technically own me like the rest you know?”, tapping on the black collar around her neck.

While Cinder was busy trying to get what she could from Erina, Emerald waved Neo for her attention before she signed, _How is he?_

_He’s doing okay, why do you ask?_

_Roman was being kind of weird when me and Mercury picked him up, but we figured after seeing that thing._

_Did it hurt you?_

_No, it only showed up once but I think he held it back._

“Much as I don’t mind being a third wheel, mind cluing me in on the conversation?”, to which Emerald shook her head before taking out her scroll for him to receive a ping as well as Neo. [I was checking with Neo to see if Roman is stable?]

Mercury- [Hasn’t Torchy always been unstable? It’s kind of his thing.]

Neo- [After he came back from being with you two he just went right back to work. So even if he wasn’t at his best, he was trying to keep himself busy.]

Emerald- [Sounds like he’s bottling a lot of this stuff up, if he doesn’t let it out somehow it’ll just explode in his face.]

Mercury- [Count me out when that happens, I can handle crazy Torchy. Not gonna deal with psycho Torchy when he blows up.]

Neo- [Well he does beat up the punching bags or shoot at targets to relax...though we’ve bought more punching bags recently since he’s been using a knife on them more.]

Mercury- [Hah, sounds like him alright.]

Suddenly hearing a piercing scream before it was silenced with a loud thud came from within the back of the restaurant. Pushing the door open with bloody hands was Roman wearing a black suit with a rose design before one of the workers came towards him with a bucket of water. “Didn’t keep you waiting long did I?”, dipping his hands in the bucket to wash off the blood before grabbing a towel off their shoulder to wipe them down.

Roman- “Glad you could come as well Adam, been awhile since we’ve seen each other hasn’t it?”

Adam- “I’d rather see you at the edge of a cliff.”

Roman- “Always so aggressive aren’t you? Maybe that’s why Kitty Kat left huh? Got too rough with her Addy?”

Adam- “You fuck!”, about to stand up when Cinder grabbed onto his arm to stop him. “We came to talk, we didn’t come to start a fight.”, clearly seeing his annoyance when Adam looked at Roman’s smiling face before he pulled his arm from Cinder and sat back down.

Roman- “You always struck me for an Alpha, but I guess being under a woman ain’t bad is it?”

Cinder- “Quit provoking him Roman. Didn’t you invite us for dinner?”

Roman- “Straight to the point today dear? Wish you were like that when we first met.”, clapping his hands for a large man came from the double doors pushing a cart when other workers came to help him set the food.

Everyone was served food except for Roman who only had four bottles of wine set up for him. “Not going to eat dear?”

Roman- “I don’t have much of an appetite after what happened this afternoon, but drinking is all I need. By the way Adam.”

Adam- “What?”, watching him take out a scroll to show him a feed of an enclosed room where several white fang members were tied up. “This scroll has the coordinates for the building where I’m holding the remainder of the members I’ve kidnapped.”, before putting it on the table and sliding it over to him.

He picked it up and saw another figure popped into screen as they held up a chalkboard with a four digit code. They propped up the sign so it could easily be read at the center of the camera before they exited out the door and he could hear the sound of it locking. “Do you expect me to be thankful?”, Adam tossed the scroll to his Lieutenant so he could use his own to contact a rescue.

Roman- “Of course not. That wouldn’t fit your character, at least to me. Now before we actually do any talking, please enjoy the meal.”

Gesturing to them as he popped open one of the bottles. Cinder glanced at Adam who simply crossed his arms as he wasn’t in the best mood, then glancing over to Emerald and Mercury who simply shrugged. “Then lets eat...”

An awkward silence filled the air as the rest ate while Roman patiently waited since he finished off the four wine bottles quickly despite looking completely sober.  “I see you’ve been doing well for yourself these past months Roman.”

Roman- “Well you know I just really needed a fresh start. What better start than a different kingdom?”

Cinder- “Makes me wonder why you chose a secluded life considering your rather successful history”

Roman- “I can honestly say that the Syndicate was too tainted to be worth salvaging. Sure I could’ve had power for a while, but don’t think I’d have the position as I do now.”

Cinder- “And why do you think that is?”

Laying back into his chair, “Probably cause I wasn’t motivated, though knowing you all has changed that quite a bit for me. Let’s say, you’ve opened my eyes.”, and when he winked at Cinder she saw his eye flash red for a split second.

Roman- “So I must be thankful for helping me choose to be where I am today.”

Adam- “Enough of the pleasantries, why the hell are we here Torchwick?”

Roman- “Haha....well I did want to meet the ones above you, but I’m sure there's a few wannabe heroes that’ll face them. So this is just between us. We’ve all been up to something these last couple of months, and since you’re here I can only assume this kingdom is gonna be the next battlefield. That’s why I propose we play game.”

Cinder- “A game?”

Roman- “I don’t know what your objective is sweetheart, but stealing powers already makes it bad news. And you Adam, you probably want to put this kingdom through hell just like Vale. Now if you saw the news this afternoon, you already know what I want. We all have an agenda in mind, and Mistral is our stage this time.”

Cinder- “And how exactly would we be playing this game?”

Roman- “Do as you’ve been doing before, but acknowledge the prize on the line.”

Adam- “What prize?”

Roman- “The future.”

Adam- “What?”

Roman- “It’s simply, if you two achieve then Mistral will go to hell and you’ll spark more tension between the kingdoms. If I achieve my goal, Mistral will be in my pocket while you two take a dirt nap forever. Easy right?”

Cinder- “If that’s what we’re already doing then why make it into a game?”

Roman- “Everything’s more fun when you make it into a game darling. Or are you too afraid to gamble with me?”

Cinder- “And why would I be afraid of gambling with a man that I’ve already dealt with before?”

Roman- “A dog will always learn new tricks. You’ve always underestimated me, so please continue to do so until the very end when I pierce your heart with a knife and you die peacefully fooling yourself.”

Adam- “You’re just the man leading the maggots of Remnant. You can’t contend with us.”

Roman- “Do you really think you’re all that? That the White Fang is strong? You’re just a bunch of terrorists that know only how to get the people’s attention for a day.”

Hearing a click, “Don’t push your luck Torchwick.”

Roman- “Or what? You gonna kill me Addy? You’re just trash, and that’s all you ever will be. Why do you think no one gave a shit when they found the bodies I left? They weren’t afraid, they weren’t shaken, you wanna know what they were? Annoyed, why do you even exist? You and your band of misfits are nothing but fucking insects that piss everyone off. Do ourselves a favor and run to the deepest hole you can find so you can die like the worthless shit you are!”, as he slammed his fist on the table that cracked it and took the attention of everyone in the room.

“You’re dead!”, unsheathing his sword as Cinder simply turned her head not interested in seeing Adam kill Roman when she heard a loud clang as the air turned cold. “What...?”, hearing Adam’s questioning tone she turned back to only see darkness before turning further to see Adam’s katana blocked by a large silver scythe.

She jumped back from the table along with Adam as the Lieutenant, Mercury and Emerald stood up from theres. Theirs eyes were taken by the giant shadowy figure who’s scythe was almost the size of a person before they moved to Roman who was simply smiling with his shining red eyes as he remained seated in his chair despite the destroyed table, “What’s wrong Adam? Weren’t you gonna kill me? You’re welcome to try again.”

Adam- “What the hell is that Torchwick?!”

Roman- “You’re always telling me I’m crazy, but if you can see it guess what that makes you?”, Adam readied his sword as the Grim Reaper slowly approached him when Cinder materialized her blades from her flames to see the red eyes shift towards her.

Every step it took they heard the sound of bones along with the ringing of chains before it suddenly disappeared. Adam looked around keeping his blade at the ready as Cinder did the same when she noticed the air dip in temperature again.

Lieutenant- “Adam behind you!”

Emerald- “Cinder jump!”

Listening to her Cinder jumped to flip and see the shadow’s scythe as it swung when Adam turned to clash with the Reaper in order to deflect the scythe before slashing at it. But he felt nothing as he cut the shadow and it immediately repaired itself, “Hard to kill what’s not alive isn’t it?”

As the shadow focused on Adam Cinder’s eyes flared up when her blades were coated with flames before she attempt to strike the shadow’s back. But she was surprised when the giant turned quickly to catch her blade with its right hand. In that brief moment she felt the heat leaving her blade and her hands were cold when she pulled away only to see it disappear again as Adam committed a futile attack.

Appearing again and she saw the Reaper’s right hand was on fire before it held it’s scythe to slide it’s hand on the blade for the flames to transfer over. “Roman, this thing is you're doing isn’t it? Stop it now.”

Roman- “Do you see my hands moving darling? I haven’t even said a word to make it do anything. It’s obvious I don’t control it.”, speaking to them in a casual tone as Erina came to his side to hand him another drink.

Together Adam and Cinder fought against the Grim Reaper despite not dealing an ounce of damage that it couldn’t regenerate. Emerald could see the Lieutenant wanting to help them but she figured he knew that the more fighters there were against a seemingly invincible force would things only more chaotic. “Mercury...”

Mercury- “I know, get ready to spot me. Tell Torchy thanks for the meal shorty.”, pointing to Neo who with confidence gave a thumbs up. Mercury charged with Emerald behind him as he jumped to kick Roman.

Cinder saw the two and while Mercury was in mid flight the Reaper suddenly blinked away to block Mercury’s kick before swinging at him. Emerald raised her sickles to block the scythe long enough for Mercury to recover once he landed on his feet. “Taurus!”, he shouted to get Adam’s attention before performing several kicks to fire off the charges from the bottom of his feet as Emerald pulled away and fired at Adam.

Understanding what they wanted he pulled his katana to absorb Mercury’s charges and Emerald’s bullets for the blade to pulsate with a red glow before sheathing it again. His mask glowed as he pulled out his blade to send a red wave directly at Roman. Smirking as the wave came rushing at him until it was immediately stopped by the Reaper’s scythe, yet Cinder saw it absorb Adam’s attack just like it took her flames.

Emerald- “Enough Roman! Make it stop!”

Cinder was more wary as the Reaper approached her and Adam with it’s pulsating scythe as she knew Adam’s power allowed him to cut through a person’s aura. “Heh.....if I tell you I can’t control it, then there's only one way to stop it. Question is, are you crazy enough to do it and find out?”

She thought what he was talking about when she thought of how the Reaper appeared. “Cinder!”, hearing Emerald scream her name made her refocus as she saw the giant charge at her with to which she dropped her blades for them to vanish when the scythe was only a centimeter from her neck as it came to a halting stop. “Just in time.”

Staring up at the pale white skull whose red eyes reminded her of the Grimm except for some reason it felt even more hollow and devoid of life. Glancing at the blade of the scythe as it was still pulsating with Adam’s power and her flames until it was pulled away from her slowly.

It turned from her and focused it’s attention on Adam who still had his blade ready. “Do it Adam!”

Adam- “Are you insane?!”, , blocking the scythe as the force pushed him back before dodging the downward swing that the Reaper followed with. “The only way he’ll stop is if you stop trying to kill me.”

Narrowly avoiding the Reaper’s swings as he realised the shadow’s strength overpowered his own when Emerald focused her aim to fire her revolvers at the same time. Knocking Adam’s katana out of his hands just as the scythe was inches above him. “But only a fool drops his gun.”, hearing Roman’s voice as the Reaper disappeared for Adam to come face to face with the barrel of Melodic Cudgel.

Lieutenant- “Torchwick!”, the Lieutenant about to pull his gun when Melanie raised her leg to aim her heel towards his crotch and Milita held her claw up to his neck. “Just stay right there big boy.”

Because of the Reaper’s rampage and size his swings destroyed the ceiling lights for them to flicker in and out which made Adam see the criminal’s crimson eyes more prominent yet what made him wary was that the man felt more Grimm-like than an actual Grimm. “Guess it’s over for you.”

Adam- “You won’t pull the trigger.”

Roman- “You wanna bet on that?”

Adam- “You’re a sadist, you wouldn’t kill me off this quickly. You’d rather find ways to make me suffer or fall into despair than just execute me.”, staring down the barrel to see Roman’s smile shine as he lowered Melodic Cudgel, “How right you are.”

Walking back before picking up his katana with his cane to swing back for Adam to catch it. “What fun is a game without the players?”, stopping to face Cinder who was catching her breath. “I told you I’d be honest didn’t I? I showed you a card and now you know how to deal with it, nice of me right?”

“You said you couldn’t even control it, how can you be so sure it’ll always be there to protect you Roman?”

Bringing a hand up to touch her cheek, “I’ve walked the line and stood at death’s door more times than I’d like, unlike you and me Death is certain,” pulling his hand away to reveal a tarot card with the image of Death on it. “Whether I trust it or not, he’ll always be there waiting for me.”, flipping the card over to reveal the image was his personal emblem but it was darkened with red eyes.

Holding out the card to her for her to take it and look at Roman’s darkened emblem before flipping it over and instead of seeing the image of death she saw a number, “That’s my personal, feel free to call if you’re interested in something more than just biting at each other's throats.”

“Is it really smart to hand the enemy an easy way to find you?”

“Just because you want me dead and just because I wouldn’t mind doing some indecent and terrible things to that lovely body of your doesn’t mean we can’t chat for a nice cup of coffee does it?”

“Same goes to you Adam.”, turning to toss another card for Adam to catch except it was his business card for SOLDIER. “If there's something you want or someone you need taken care of no questions asked, give me a call. First two jobs are free. I’ll even sell you weapons if you’ve got the lein for it.”

“Selling weapons to the White Fang? Thought you wanted to fight us.”

“There's nothing fun in playing with a stacked deck if you’re opponent is running on fumes. If we’re starting wars, then we all gotta go with a bang you know?”

Looking to the Lieutenant as he gestured the twins to back off and glanced over to Mercury and Emerald, “Hope you all enjoyed dinner but I’ve got a mess to clean up.”, taking that as their cue to leave they headed for the entrance.

“Cinder, Adam.”, being the last ones to leave they turned at Roman’s nice to see him calmly standing with Neo, Erina and the twins. “Whatever happens, I hope we all have fun in this game. With Mistral’s future as the prize, may the best monster win.”


End file.
